


The Gift

by Cantanatova



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28478475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantanatova/pseuds/Cantanatova
Summary: When Buffy throws herself into the portal to close it in Dawn's stead, she expected to die. Left with no body, the Scoobies think she is dead. But that is without the reckoning of an inter dimensional key who just happens to be her sister...
Comments: 19
Kudos: 20





	1. The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> **AN – One thing I really wasn't planning to do was to start a new, lengthy fanfic. Particularly a cross over, where a lot of people probably won't even see it. But I was reading some wonderful fics (Particularly 'Buffy and Star Wars are Non-Mixy' and 'Phantoms and Slayers') and they inspired me just so much to have a go at my own. Anything Star Wars is based off the movies, I'm not familiar with all the TV shows including The Clone Wars and so there may be some things not strictly lore. But hey, it's a fanfiction!**
> 
> **AN2 – Some of the text and all the dialogue in this first chapter comes directly from Buffy Season 5 The Gift – I will minimise where I use it, but it is needed! Similarly, there will be dialogue lifted from the Star Wars movies in places.**
> 
> **Disclaimer – I don't own Buffy or Star Wars**

_You are full of love. You love with all of your soul. It's brighter than the fire…_

_Love is pain and the Slayer forges strength from pain. Love, give, forgive. Risk the pain. It is your nature. Love will bring you to your gift._

_Death…is your gift._

__Buffy Summers swung the troll hammer another time at the hell goddess Glorificus, who was staring back at her in disbelief. Blood streamed from her nose as she screamed at the slayer._ _

__"Stop it!"_ _

__"You're a god," Buffy spat back with a nonchalant shrug and a toss of her blond hair. "Make it stop." Another twirl of the troll hammer delivered an uppercut that knocked Glory onto her back. Then Buffy really let loose, raining blow after blow down onto the hell god, pouring out all her pain and anger into her strikes._ _

__Glory shuddered and morphed into a young man, face bloodied and bruised. Buffy held her swing._ _

__"I'm sorry," he gasped out, choking slightly on the blood running down his face. There was a moment of split indecision from the slayer, before she eventually lowered her hammer._ _

__"Tell her it's over, she missed her shot." Buffy looked contemptuously down at the human who had caused her so much pain. If only he had come to her for help she could have helped him, but it was too late now. She felt sorry for him, she really did, but he was complicit in Glory's crimes through his silence and inaction. "She goes. If she ever comes near me and mine again…" she left the threat hanging._ _

__"We won't," he gasped out. "I swear."_ _

__Her glance passed over him once more before she dismissed him. She stepped away from him and ran to the tower, dropping the troll hammer as it was only slowing her down. Her gaze was focussed on the small figure tied at the end of the gantry on top of the tower, long hair blowing in the wind. An interdimensional key capable of opening portals between dimension, that Glory was planning to use to return to her home. A key that monks made into life using the essence of the Slayer, and given to Buffy to protect. Buffy's sister._ _

__But Dawn wasn't alone up there._ _

__Buffy tore past her watcher, the father figure standing quietly in the shadows as he watched her spare Ben's life and moved to do what she couldn't. Past the crumpled body of the vampire who professed to love her, the huddled forms of her friends Willow and Tara, the fighting stances of Xander and Anya. All her focus was on the tower and the tower alone._ _

__She leapt up the stairs, using all of her supernatural slayer strength and speed. As she emerged at the top, she could see her sister tied tightly to the end of the tower, one arm pinned to each side of the gantry. Dawn was wearing some elaborate velvet dress and her bare feet clung to the end of the tower as if her life depended on it._ _

__"Dawn!" She called, her sister's gaze connecting with hers._ _

__"Buffy!" Came the return cry, the tremor in Dawn's voice showing just how scared she was. Neither Buffy nor Dawn noticed the small amount of blood beginning to trickle down Dawn's ankles to her feet from where she had been cut on her abdomen – shallow wounds, to bring more blood to the surface._ _

__The white haired man standing in front of Dawn wielding a bloodied knife turned at the sound of Buffy's voice. He grinned maliciously, eyes that were unnaturally black gleaming in anticipation._ _

__"Now this should be interesting…"_ _

__Only focussed on Dawn, Buffy shouldered past him and shoved him from the tower._ _

__"Buffy, it hurts," Dawn cried as Buffy reached her, frantically pulling at the bonds that secured her sister to the tower. Slayer strength made short work of them as Buffy murmured platitudes to Dawn._ _

__"It's going to be ok, Dawn." She helped Dawn walk back along the tower. They had reached the stairs when Dawn stopped and gazed past Buffy's shoulder, eyes wide and scared. She ignored Buffy's efforts to get her down the stairs as she watched the portal that had formed beneath the end of the gantry growing bigger and bigger._ _

__"Buffy, it's started."_ _

__Buffy looked at the portal to hell glowing at the end of the gangway, blue light flashing and hitting out at the town of Sunnydale below. Wherever the light hit, disruption and chaos could be seen. She was aware of Dawn talking, even going as far as to answer her, but her mind was elsewhere._ _

__What was the ritual? The portal will only close when the energy is gone, when the blood stops. But Dawn is alive, her blood wasn't stopping. Now Buffy was here, she couldn't allow Dawn to die. Her little sister, made of herself._ _

__Herself…her blood. Spike said it was all about the blood. Death is your gift. The Slayer looked at the sun, rising in the East above the desert surrounding Sunnydale, heralding a new day, a new beginning, a new dawn. Then she knew what she had to do. She turned to Dawn, eyes filled with purpose. Dawn's expression was mounting horror as she realised what her sister was going to do._ _

__"Buffy, no."_ _

__"Dawnie, I have to."_ _

__"No!"_ _

__Buffy took a deep breath and started talking to Dawn. She told her how much she loved her and gave her messages to pass on to her friends and loved ones. She finished by pressing a kiss to Dawn's cheek._ _

__"Be brave. Live. For me."_ _

__Buffy turned and, not giving herself time to really think about what she was doing, ran and dived from the top of the tower into the portal below._ _

__She was falling, falling through the air. Then she hit the portal and it was loud and it surrounded her and it hurt as it drained her of energy, of life._ _

__And then…_ _

__Then there was a green flash, and Buffy was gone._ _

__And so was Dawn._ _

__The sun rose, as it had every other day since the world began. The morning was peaceful, serene, belying the scene at the foot of the tower. As her friends staggered closer, supporting each other to find that there was no portal but no slayer. The wail of the best friend, the confusion on the face of the watcher, the despair on the face of the vampire. But there was nothing they could do as the tower creaked and fell, collapsing in on itself. When it had finally fallen, leaving nothing but twisted scraps of metal reaching towards the sky, the onlookers began to move. Pouring over it, diving through it, checking every strut and every beam. But as the cloud of dust finally began to settle, they could not find a single body, dead or alive, around the structure of the tower._ _

__An eerie hush fell over the yard, only broken by keening sobs as they realised that Buffy and Dawn were gone._ _

__-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-_ _

__In a galaxy far, far away, a motley collection of people were sitting in custom chairs around the edge of a circular room. They were listening to the report from a Jedi knight, Qui-Gon Jinn, who had been briefing them on a diplomacy mission to an outer planet. Qui-Gon's words suddenly sputtered to a halt mid-sentence, his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi sucking in a sharp breath as they all felt something wash over them. Eyes were wide and ears raised in alarm as the force around them shifted, altered irrevocably._ _

__The oldest and most experiences Jedi master of them all, Grand Master Yoda, closed his eyes and drew in a breath as he felt outwards, trying to sense what had happened. The Force eddied and swirled, bringing only confusion and the hint of something green._ _

__"Great disturbance in the force, there is." He said finally, looking around at his fellow members of the Jedi council. "Concealed, the reason."_ _

__"Could it be the enacting of the prophecy of the Chosen One?" Mace Windu speculated, although most of his fellow council members did not bother to hide their scepticism. Master Windu was known for setting a lot of store in the return of the Sith, something not all the council members agreed with. Qui-Gon was watching Master Windu with interest, he too felt that the dawning of the prophecy was drawing nearer._ _

__Yoda frowned, his green brow wrinkling in deep thought. "Chosen One, it may be. Clouded, the future is. On the present, focus must lie." He saw the tiniest twitch from Padawan Kenobi, betraying his master's thoughts. "Discussions on Ha-wal, we must return to. Clarity, we will find in time. Alert we will remain."_ _

__"Yes, Master Yoda," Qui-Gon responded with a short bow. "As I was saying, our entreaties to the emissary were initially successful…"_ _

__The Jedi council returned to its discussions, the moment passed but not forgotten._ _

__And in the meantime, in a remote forested area of a small and otherwise unremarkable planet called Naboo, a young girl sat up cradling her head before looking around with wide eyes._ _

__"Buffy?"_ _


	2. The Gungun

Dawn sat up warily, looking around at the forest surrounding her with wide eyes. She tried to remember what had happened, difficult with a pounding headache, and she felt incredibly weak. The leaves in the trees rustled soothingly as she closed her eyes and shook her head to try to clear it, only making the problem worse.

"Buffy?" She called, wondering where her sister had gone.

Then it all came crashing back into her memory. Glory, the tower, the creepy man with the knife, Buffy's message, Buffy's jump.

"Buffy!" Dawn cried, frantically now as she stumbled to her feet. "Buffy!" She spun, trying to get her bearings. Everything was cool and green and damp, like nothing she had ever seen in the Californian desert. "Buffy!"

She stumbled forwards a few steps and then saw, between the trees, a flash of a lighter colour. "Buffy?" She ran forwards, foliage tugging at her legs and dragging on her ornate dress as she pushed through. A branch brushed across her side and she hissed with pain, clutching at the cuts made by the strange demon.

"Buffy!" Dawn slumped next to her sister. Buffy was still, so still. She was spread-eagled, face down against the forest floor. Dawn's heart jumped into her mouth as her fingers traced Buffy's neck, finding a pulse she finally let out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Gently, Dawn turned her sister over onto her back. Buffy didn't stir, but now Dawn could see that she was at least breathing. There were no obvious injuries, but the slayer was unconscious and showed no signs that she would be waking up anytime soon.

Dawn stood up, taking in her surroundings. No matter which way she turned, there was nothing but forest. "Help!" She cried, her voice sounding feeble in the hush. "Is there anyone out there? Help!" She started taking stumbling steps through the trees. "Help!" In a moment of panic she thought she had gone too far and lost her sister, but no there was Buffy still lying on the ground. Dawn ran back to her, tears streaking down her face now. "Buffy!" She cried again. "Buffy, you have to wake up. We need to get out of here."

Buffy didn't even twitch, the gentle rise and fall of her chest the only sign that she was still alive.

"Please," Dawn begged. "I don't know what to do. Buffy, we're stuck in some woods and I don't know what to do!"

"Whatsa here den?" The strange, gruff voice startled Dawn and she stood up, spinning around to see a figure standing near her, brandishing some form of spear. But it wasn't the weapon that caused her to gasp and stumble back, it was the appearance of the creature.

"Please, please don't hurt us," Dawn begged, crouching protectively over Buffy's prone figure.

"Whysa I hurt yousa?" The figure tilted its head curiously at Dawn. It was tall, far taller than Dawn herself. It looked like some form of frog demon, its skin was a strange purple colour from the back, silver-white in front. It had two arms and two legs but they weren't in proportion, they looked too long for the rest of its body. Its nose was long, kind of like a horse, and it had huge ears that hung down behind its head. Its eyes, which were orange, were perched on top of stalks above its head. It was wearing some form of tunic and trousers, with wrist guards but no shoes.

"B-because you're a demon," Dawn stammered.

"Mesa demon? Whassa demon? Mesa Gungun. Captain Tarpals is mesa name."

"A G-Gungun?"

"Yes, a Gungun." The creature looked at Dawn with confusion. "Yousa not knowing Gungun? Yousa on Naboo."

"What is Naboo?" Dawn asked cautiously. The creature, the Gungun, hadn't shown any sign of eating her but that didn't mean he wasn't trying to lure her into a false sense of security.

"Naboo is a planet."

"Planet?" Dawn's voice came out weaker than she intended. The way he said planet suggested... "There are more than one?"

The Gungun was obviously now very confused. "Isa many lots. Yousa ok? Hitta yousa head?"

"I…" Dawn stood up, swaying slightly. The events of the day were beginning to be a bit too much for her.

Captain Roos Tarpals looked closely at the strange human, who was getting paler every moment. Eventually he made a decision, it was against all common sense but he could almost feel the Living Force whispering to him, pushing him down this path. "Come with mesa, mesa got food and sleep space." He turned to lead her away, back to the small area he'd set up a temporary camp in.

"Wait!" The young human's call caused him to turn back to her. "Buffy, my sister… I can't leave her."

The captain looked at the other figure. He'd first assumed that she had returned to the Force, but now that the first human had drawn his attention to it he could see she too was alive. He sighed, now he had to look after two?

"Okay, yousa walking then." He strode up to the second human female and effortlessly scooped her up into his arms. She was small and light, shouldn't be too much effort for his kaadu to carry although it would be awkward to strap her into place. The first human was trying to keep up, he could hear her footsteps following close behind. Footsteps that faltered to a halt when they approached the clearing where he'd left the kaadu.

"What… is that?"

Roos turned back to her, to see that she'd stopped at the edge of the clearing, a look of shock on her face. She was swaying slightly and he frowned to himself, thinking that he had better get them back to his camp quickly. Really, they both needed healers but it was more than a day's ride back to Otoh Gunga and he only had one kaadu with him.

"Isa kaadu. Is mesa."

"Kaadu?" She repeated weakly and Roos nodded once before rolling his cargo onto the creature. After thinking for a few moments, he used the leg braces to tie her into position. It didn't look comfortable, but she was unlikely to fall off.

"Come," he told the other one as he began leading the kaadu to his campsite. She followed slowly, Roos making sure he didn't go to fast. He noticed she was clutching her sides underneath the strange clothing she was wearing. It was an elaborate outfit and it looked out of place in the forest. Talking of which…

"What yousa do in da forest?"

"I don't know," was the quiet reply. "We were at home, there was a portal, Buffy jumped to close it and then suddenly we were both here. Wherever here is."

"Here isa Naboo."

"I remember you saying," the girl went quiet for a moment. "We're from Earth."

"Earth?" Roos thought hard. "I no knowsa Earth."

There was a dejected sigh from the girl. "It figures."

"But Gungun no goesa much off Naboo. Maybe ask Naboo?"

"The planet?"

"No, Naboo hoomans, other side of da Naboo planet."

The girl looked confused, but they were nearing the camp now. "Mesa no explains well. Wesa goes to Otoh Gunga, aska dere. Firsts, yousa have da sick. Where da hurts?"

"Oh," Dawn looked down at herself, at the tattered dress she was still wearing. "Um, my stomach was cut." She pulled apart the rips and the strange creature looked closely at them.

"Hm," was his only reply, his whisker things wiggling as he thought. He then started rummaging through a bag that was resting against a rock. "Here. Dis a paste good for hurts." Dawn gingerly took the green concoction he was holding out to her. "Put on da hurts." He instructed, gesturing to her cuts. As she was too tired to argue, Dawn smeared some of the goo on her cut stomach almost groaning in relief at the soothing sensation.

"Isa good, no? Healers make good paste."

"Thank you," Dawn cracked a small smile at the Gungun. He was now going over to the other creature where Buffy was strapped on like a sack of potatoes. The image was comical, if only because Buffy would never allow herself to look so undignified in any normal situation. Dawn eyed up the creature warily but it seemed happy enough just to stand in the small clearing. It looked like some kind of dinosaur crossed with an ostrich, stood upright on two legs with a long neck. Its face looked more like a duck than a dinosaur though, with a long bill and a ridge for a nose above it.

Once she was sure the animal wasn't going anywhere, she looked around the small clearing. In the middle there was something that resembled a fire pit, still smouldering. Then at the far side, strung between two trees that were jutting out of a rocky outcrop was a tent of sorts. Underneath it was a bundle of something soft looking, next to a couple of packs. It was to this pile of blankets that the Gungun – Dawn couldn't remember his name – carried Buffy. He lay her down gently.

"Friend is a mucha hurts," he said to Dawn.

"Buffy is my…is my sister." Dawn explained. "I don't know what's wrong with her. But she jumped into an energy portal thing… I thought she was going to die."

"Needsa healers." The creature commented. "Yousa needsa healers too. We goes backs to Otoh Gunga after sleeps."

"Thank you," Dawn murmured, what else could she say? This creature still half terrified her, but he'd been nothing but kind so far. All of Dawn's instincts were saying she could trust him and she didn't really have much choice anyway. He handed her some form of biscuit that didn't taste anywhere near as bad as it looked and gestured towards where Buffy was lying on the blankets.

"Sleeps. Inna da morning, we ride to da city."

Dawn crawled under the cover next to Buffy, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible on the hard ground. The Gungun handed Dawn another blanket to cover them both up with, as he sat down and coaxed the little fire into life.

Dawn was convinced she would never get comfortable enough to sleep, but after the events of last last day – hell, the last six months – she was out like a light as soon as she closed her eyes.

When Dawn woke up the next day her back was agony and she'd rolled out from underneath the blanket. She scrambled back under the cover as she was being dusted with a light rain, pattering off the foliage around her. She peered out but could see no sign of their host from the night before.

Next she checked Buffy. Her sister was still lying in the same position she had been placed in, if it wasn't for the rise and fall of her chest she could be mistaken for being dead. Dawn spent some time just watching her, counting her rhythmical breathing and checking her heart rate, until she was reassured that Buffy wasn't dead but just unconscious still.

By the time Dawn had finished, the Gungun had returned to the clearing. This time he was leading a second of the weird duck dinosaur creatures that Buffy had been carried on the night before.

"Yousa sister wake?"

"Um, no. Is… do you think she'll be ok?" Dawn hated how small her voice sounded, but she was just so worried. Buffy was a ball of hyper energy – even when she was lounging around in sweatpants watching boxsets she was just thrumming with life. Seeing her so unresponsive was horrible.

"Mesa not knows. Healers know in city." The Gungun gestured to the second creature. "Mesa borrow kaadu from da other camp. Wesa can ride."

"Other camp…there are more of you?" Dawn said weakly. The Gungun looked at her curiously again.

"Yes, Gunguns live all over da Naboo. Mesa Captain, doing patrols. Find yousa, hm?"

"Oh yes," Dawn now remembered that he had said he was a captain… or something along those lines anyway. "Um…my name's Dawn. And this is my sister Buffy. We're humans. Well, kind of. She's the Slayer and I'm a key that was made into a human from her about a year ago and then given memories and… never mind." She hastily concluded when she saw the confusion on the face of the Gungun.

"Okay. Well mesa Captain Tarpals. Roos Tarpals. Mesa doing patrols with da others, borrow kaadu for going to Otoh Gunga."

"Ok, great." Dawn looked between the kaadu and Buffy. "How can I help?"

"Yousa sit dere and eats dis." He gave her something again, the same kind of biscuit she'd eaten the night before. "Isa for da patrols, hm? Isa drink dere too."

Dawn took the water gratefully, refuelling herself while Captain Tarpals strapped Buffy onto one of the kaadu again. He then expertly rolled away all the bedding and padded it around her, cushioning her as much as possible.

"Isa long way," he explained to Dawn, checking one final strap. "Now, yousa rides with mesa, hm?"

"What?" Dawn squeaked, hurriedly standing up. "I can't ride that thing!"

"Sure yousa can." Tarpals led the free kaadu over to her. "Isa seat, see? Mesa sits dere, den yousa sits in front."

"No, I mean…I can't get on that! What if I fall off? Or it doesn't like me? Or-"

"Yousa need healers," Tarpals told her impatiently. "Must goes to city. Ride kaadu dere." Without waiting for any further argument, he picked her up around the waist and sat her on top of the kaadu. With a graceful leap he swept up behind her, passing his arms around her to grab the reins. With a shake, the kaadu started moving and Dawn shrieked loudly.

Tarpals ignored her completely, and after a while she began to get used to the loping gate of the two-legged kaadu. She could see Buffy bouncing a lot on the second creature and winced almost every time her head hit the side of the animal. She really hoped that Buffy would forgive her for this when she woke up.

They rode for most of the day, weaving through the trees in vast forests. It was the thing that, finally, convinced Dawn that they were not on Earth anymore. She just couldn't picture anywhere on Earth that would have such vast unbroken wilderness. There weren't even any truck tracks, just the paths that the kaadu ran down.

Eventually, after several long hours that caused Dawn to ache all over and droop wearily in the saddle, Captain Tarpals began to slow the kaadu down. Buffy was still unconscious, draped across the second of the animals. The Gungun had obviously tied her well as she hadn't moved at all.

"Captain Tarpals," came a new voice, causing Dawn to snap her head back up. Ahead of them on the ground, stood two more of the Gungun things. "Why you brought da Naboo?"

"Dey not Naboo," Dawn's new friend informed them tartly. "Hoomans, not Naboo. Lost and hurts. Wesa going to da healers."

The second of the new arrivals looked thoughtful at the moment. "Dey needin healer beds for go to city. Forgar, gettuns healer beds for two."

"Thanking you," Tarpals said as the first of the Gungun strode off. Dawn watched, amazed, as it did an elaborate flip before diving into a large lake that was ahead of them.

"No bes thanking mesa," the other Gungun was saying. "Yousa have to splains to Big Boss."

Dawn didn't miss Tarpals's wince. He was saved from saying anything else by the emergence of two figures from the lake. One was the lanky Gungun who had gone in a moment before, but the second was a squat creature who regarded them all with a professional eye. Following them were two box-like things with transparent domed lids.

"Whassa yousa gots now, Roos?" The shorter Gungun asked in a decidedly female tone. "Yousa bringin dem hoomans with da hurts here?"

Dawn found herself being lifted down from the kaadu, her legs stumbling on contact with the ground after so long riding. She was grabbed and steadied by the short Gungun, who peered at her carefully.

"Yousa did goods, Tarpals. Dese notta Naboo. Needs help. Come, girl," the last few words were said directly to Dawn in a much softer voice. "Wesa puts yousa in da bed for go to city. Is under water and yousa no can breathe."

"My name is Dawn and this is my sister Buffy."

The Gungun nodded. "Mesa Healer Burban, Dawnee. Mesa boss healer. Wesa fixes yousa, okay?" She guided Dawn over to one of the pod things and persuaded Dawn to lie down in it. To Dawn's amazement she could just move right through the domed lid, inside it was comfortable with none of the dampness that was in the air. She could still just about hear what was happening outside the pod, as Healer Burban was berating Captain Tarpals on how he had transported Buffy.

"Shesa hurts and you string her up like bag of kaadu feeds! No ways to treat a lady."

"We needs to get back quick soon," Captain Tarpals was explaining. "Found dem deep in Junga woods, theysa lost and plenty hurts."

"Pfft," it didn't sound as though Captain Tarpals's argument was holding much sway. "I taking dem to the healer rooms now. Yousa follow."

Dawn felt a lurch as the box she was in began to move, she held onto the sides as it rocked gently to and fro. It wasn't much of a movement, but given everything that had happened she gripped onto it for dear life. Then there was a splash, the next moment she was submerged. Reflexively she let out a scream, only to realise that the domed top of the pod was keeping out all the water around her. The water was dark and she couldn't see through it or hear anything at all, so Dawn shut her eyes tightly to try to ignore what was happening.

Eventually the movement stopped and sound came rushing back. Opening her eyes, Dawn found she was looking up at a ceiling that was lit with a golden glow, it seemed to be the top of a sphere.

"Yousa cans come out now," Healer Burban told her. Dawn gingerly sat up, then gasped at her surroundings. It looked like she was in a bubble, curved walls were interlaced with golden support beams all meeting at the ceiling she had been looking at earlier. The floor was tiled and also light in colour and there were a pair of beds arranged around one wall. There was a second entrance into another bubble that was opaque instead of transparent and Dawn thought she could see washing facilities through the entrance. But what took her breath away was the sight outside the room, of tens or maybe hundreds of similar bubbles all lit from within, glowing inside the dark water of the lake. All the bubbles were connected by passageways and corridors made of smaller bubbles but it didn't look built. It looked organic, like it had grown that way. It was like nothing she had ever seen and it was incredible.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, unable to tear her gaze away.

Someone walked up beside her, then Captain Tarpals spoke to her in his gruff voice. "Welcomes to Otoh Gunga."


	3. The City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been taking the time to read this, particularly those who left kudos or comments.

A group of four healers, led by Healer Burban, quickly installed Dawn in one of the two beds and carefully laid Buffy out in the other. They pulled privacy screens around them both, telling Captain Tarpals very firmly that he had to stay outside. Dawn chuckled to herself as she heard him stamping away, grumbling about healers and muttering about the 'big boss', whoever that was.

Very soon Dawn didn't have much time to worry about Captain Tarpals as she was coaxed out of the ridiculous dress that Glory had insisted she wear. It seemed so long ago now, standing on the tower back in Sunnydale waiting for Buffy to save her but knowing in her heart that she was going to die. Except she hadn't, somehow she had ended up here on Naboo.

Healer Burban tutted loudly when she saw all Dawn's cuts, applying more of the paste Captain Tarpals had given her back at the camp. The relief of the numbing paste was incredible, as the cuts had begun to throb badly with all the jostling on the kaadu. The strange demon may have made long, shallow cuts instead of deep incisions but they were deep enough and she was worried they would scar.

"Yousa needs rest now," Healer Burban told her firmly. "Mesa get you food, then yousa rest. Yousa sister will still be here after rest."

"Is she ok?" Dawn asked, not managing to keep the worry from her voice.

The healer looked at her kindly. "Shesa will be. Not many hurts, except in the mind. Shesa needs rest too, long rest. Shesa wakes when she is ready." Patient reassured, Healer Burban brought over a bowl of something unidentifiable to Dawn. "This good food, tastes better than looks. Leave bowl on stand, then rest."

"Yes Healer Burban," Dawn accepted, dubiously taking the offered spoon and looking at the bowl. The healer left, a couple of her underlings following her out and leaving Buffy and Dawn alone. Deciding there was no time like the present, Dawn tasted the soup. It was some kind of fishy dish, not great but as the healer had said it wasn't as bad as it looked. It was a relief to get some proper food for the first time in a day or so and Dawn quickly finished the bowl. Following the directions, she placed the bowl on the table at the side of the bed and tucked herself in.

"Goodnight Buffy," she said with a yawn, not getting any reply. Dawn lay down and looked straight up at the ceiling. The light inside the bubble began to dim, meaning that Dawn could see more of the outside. Distant bubbles above and around theirs gave off a golden glow, in between shoals of fish passed by with the occasional Gungun swimming with long, powerful strokes. It was relaxing, almost like the time Dawn had sat and watched an aquarium whilst waiting to be seen at a dentist surgery. It had really relaxed her then, presumably the reason why there were aquariums in waiting rooms in the first place. It did the same thing this time and very soon Dawn drifted off into sleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When Dawn finally woke, she felt really well rested. It was hard to know what time it was, although the water outside the bubble was slightly less dark than it had been the night before. As she sat up and stretched, the glow inside the bubble brightened noticeably. "Cool," Dawn murmured, staring at the room around her. The first thing she did was to clamber over to the other bed, but Buffy looked no different to the night before.

"Shesa breathing ok, just sleeping," the gentle voice startled Dawn and she jumped, spinning around to see who was talking. Another tall Gungun, more similar to Captain Tarpals than the squat Healer Burban, was sat quietly in a chair the other side of the bubble, so still that Dawn hadn't noticed her.

"Will she wake up?" Dawn asked, trying to keep her fear from her voice.

"When shesa ready," was the soothing reply. "Now, yousa got clothes waiting. Captain Tarpals wants to take yousa to see da Big Boss."

Dawn gulped. Big Boss sounded ominous. She entered the second room of the bubble, finding it was a bathroom of sorts. She freshened up and then scrutinised the pile of clothes. They seemed far too big for her, but then no one that she had seen so far here was anything like her in shape or size so Dawn guessed she was lucky that they fit at all. It was a loose fitting top with a kind of waistcoat and some flared trousers. Once on, she had to roll the bottom of the trousers up several inches but all in all it could have been a lot worse. There were no shoes so she just resigned herself to going without.

When she re-entered the healing bubble, she saw Captain Tarpals already waiting for her.

"Yousa finally ready," he commented in his gruff voice.

"Hey, I didn't take that long!" Dawn protested.

"Yousa slept for long time," he smiled to soften his words. "Need much sleeps. Is good. Now Big Boss wants to see yousa."

"Um, ok," Dawn steadied herself. "Now?" Captain Tarpals nodded and gestured out of the bubble.

"Mesa shows da way."

"So," Dawn asked as they started walking through more bubbles and corridors. "Who is the Big Boss? And why does he want to see me?"

Captain Tarpals stroked his whiskers contemplatively. "Da Big Boss is Boss Nass. He and High Council want to talk to you. He wants to know if yousa threat to Gungun."

"What? I'm no threat!"

The captain smiled. "Mesa knows, but da Naboo not always nice to Gungun. Yousa look like da Naboo. Be polites and tell da truth, yousa be fine."

"Ok, polite and honest. I can do that." Dawn muttered to herself, giving herself a little pep talk. By now they had arrived in a giant bubble, which housed multiple other structures. "Whoa…" she breathed, looking around at the intricate framework of the space.

She hadn't realised that she had slowed until Captain Tarpals called for her. "Dis way," he prodded. "No keeps High Council waiting."

"Sorry," Dawn trotted to catch up. She was still barefoot but it didn't matter, the floors were scrupulously clean and warming to the touch.

She followed Captain Tarpals down a few steps and into another bubble. Immediately she knew she was in front of the council. On a raised dais sat five Gungun in formal robes, the one in the centre raised above the others. She was moved gently onto a central platform by Captain Tarpals, who then stood respectively to one side.

"Um…hi." Dawn said after a couple of minutes of silence, waving awkwardly with one hand. The central figure narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

"So," he started, then clicked a few times. "Yousa da human dat say dey is not Naboo."

"Yes, I'm not." Dawn shook her head. "I mean, yes that is me and no I'm not Naboo."

"Why yousa here den?"

"I don't know," Dawn frowned. "I'm not really sure where I am or how we got here." She looked up at Boss Nass, who was sitting forwards and watching her intently. "I mean…" she took a deep breath and prepared to launch into her story. "On my world, which is called Earth, there was a hell god thing that was trying to open a portal to her dimension to get home. But she needed my blood because I was the key to the portal, so she kidnapped me and then tied me up to a tower." Despite herself, Dawn began to shudder at the memory. "Then she, well actually this creepy guy with white hair and black eyes, cut me and opened the portal. Buffy threw him off the tower and freed me, but it was too late." She looked up at the High Council with big, wide eyes. "The portal was open, and it would stay open until the blood stopped flowing. My blood. So I…" Dawn's voice broke momentarily and her eyes began to well up but she ploughed on regardless. "I was going to jump into the portal, because it was destroying the world. But Buffy said no… she told me that she'd figured it out. That she would be ok. And then she jumped instead."

Now there were tears running down Dawn's cheeks. "And… and I thought she was going to die. And I just watched, and I couldn't do anything, and then the portal began to close. But there was a green light and a strange noise and then everything went dark." She sniffed loudly, before gratefully accepting a handkerchief that Captain Tarpals leant forwards to pass her. "And then I woke up in the forest, and Buffy was there but she was unconscious. And she's still unconscious and I don't know if she'll ever wake up." She sniffed again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…well, but you see we're not Naboo. We're from Earth, but I don't know where that is. We didn't know anything about space or other planets or people or anything."

There was silence at the end of her story, punctuated only by the occasional hiccup and Dawn tried to bring her breathing back under control.

After what felt like an eternity, Boss Nass sat back and stroked his chin with his hand. "Yousa telling da truths. Is a big story, but a true one." He clicked again, as if thinking. "When yousa came, dere was a shift in da Force. Now," he gestured expansively. "Wesa knows da Naboo and da Jedi thinks we not feel da Force, but wesa listens to da Living Force. It brought yousa to us, wesa not turn our back on it. Wesa care for yousa, maybe yousa help us hm?"

"I'm not sure what I can do to help," Dawn said warily. "I'm still in school and don't know very much."

"Hmm… maybe yousa wants to help da healers, hm? Or teach da youngsters? You can write?"

"Oh yes, I mean…" Dawn frowned. "I don't know whether I'll be able to read and write your languages. But I was learning Latin at home too."

"Yousa speak Basic."

"Basic? To me, it's English."

"Dis is Basic," Captain Tarpals held out a tablet with some scratches on it, but it meant nothing to Dawn.

"I can't read that," she explained apologetically. "But I would like to learn to."

Boss Nass appeared to think again, one of his advisors leaning forwards and saying something that Dawn couldn't catch. He nodded, then sat up and addressed the room. "Mesa say, Captain Tarpals yousa will care for da humans. Wesa not tellings about how yousa gots here, no needs da Jedi to come nosing around da Gungun. Human, yousa can works with da healers for now and learn with da younglings how to reads Basic. Den, wesa ask yousa to go to Naboo cities to trades as yousa looks like da Naboo. When dere, you may find da answers about how yousa gets here."

Trading was like shopping… well that didn't sound so bad and it might lead to answers. And if she was helping the healers she would be close to Buffy. "Thank you, thank you so much." Dawn told him gratefully. Boss Nass looked momentarily embarrassed by her thanks before waving them out of the room.

As soon as they were back in the large central bubble Dawn breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Yousa did good," Captain Tarpals told her, smiling slightly.

"Thank you… I just followed your advice and told the truth."

"Big Boss, he respecta dat." Tarpals turned to her. "Want to find da foods before wesa go back?"

"Please," Dawn replied, her stomach choosing that moment to remind her that she hadn't yet eaten. The captain led her up to a row of smaller bubbles that lined one of the paths.

"Here," he said eventually, picking one. "I thinks dis food is good for hoomans. Yousa will learn," he smiled at her confused expression. "Dere is a lot of foods here, some just for Gunguns. Not has many outsiders here." He led her over to a counter and proceeded to talk quickly with the Gungun manning the booth. Dawn was too busy looking at the displays of shellfish to really pay any attention to what they were saying, but eventually he came back to her with a bowl full of something that smelled delicious.

"Wow," Dawn said, taking the bowl from him happily and scrutinising the contents. "What is this?"

"Fried shellfish," was the reply. Dawn tentatively popped one into her mouth, crunching through the batter and into the juicy contents.

"Wow!" She exclaimed again. "These are great!" She followed Tarpals as he continued to walk through the open centre of the city.

"So yousa youngling?" Tarpals asked her curiously.

Dawn huffed. "I'm nearly fifteen! Although… I guess technically I'm not as I was only created a year ago. But I feel nearly fifteen!"

Tarpals looked at her knowingly. "All da younglings, dey wants to be old hm? Den when dey old, dey wants to be young." He popped one of his shellfish into his mouth. "Wesa finds you lessons for da Basic, den you be fine. Not needs to do more than reads for visiting da Naboo."

"Why don't you get on with the Naboo?" Dawn asked curiously.

Tarpals shrugged. "Is a long history. But, dey think deysa more clever than us, look down on us. Wesa no like, builds mistrust. Wesa not less clever, wesa clever in different ways."

"No one that has seen this place could think you aren't clever," Dawn protested, gesturing around at the city. "It's like nothing I've ever seen, it's amazing."

He acknowledged her compliment with a nod. "But mesa think that dere is now too much bad blood between us. Da Naboo, dey take more than dey need. Dig big holes looking for things, forget dat da Gungun live dere too. Dey have forgotten us."

"That's sad," Dawn commented, finishing her meal up. "But you need things the Naboo have?"

"Da Naboo trade off-world, Gungun do not. If wesa wants things, wesa go to Naboo cities to gets. But da Naboo don't like us." He looked sideline at Dawn. "Yousa not have dat problem. Yousa human."

Dawn shrugged. "Well that's fair enough. You'll need to tell me all about the Naboo so I don't look like an idiot though."

They reached the healing bubble Dawn had woken up in, greeted at the entrance by Healer Burban. "Whatsa yousa doing up?"

"Big Boss wants to talks," Captain Tarpals explained. "Hesa said that Dawnee can stay, and da sister too."

"Buffy," Dawn supplemented.

"Is good," Healer Burban nodded thoughtfully. "What yousa do now?"

"Boss Nass said that I was to help out the healers and learn Basic," Dawn explained. "Then, when I know enough, I can go to the Naboo cities to trade as I blend in better. I'm sure Buffy would be happy to do that too, when she wakes."

"Mesa to look after dem," Tarpals added. The healer thought about it.

"Mesa pleased, need help. Silly Gunguns hurt themselves too much. Yousa sister still sleeps, yousa can stay here with her until shesa wakes."

"Thank you," Dawn replied, very grateful at not being separated from Buffy.

"Yousa can learn to make healing paste," Healer Burban told her. "Come, Dawnee." Dawn followed the healer out of the room, sending a last glance back to Buffy as she did so.

Dawn spent the rest of the day shadowing the healer as she tended to her patients. Many came in with cuts that needed the special paste that Healer Burban taught Dawn to make. The healer explained that the plasma the Gungun used to power their city and make their weapons was harvested from a particularly vicious underwater plant. This led to a lot of Gungun injuries that required patching up. Dawn did ask whether there was another way to harvest the plasma without having to get so close to the plant, but Healer Burban just snorted and shook her head.

"Is a point of pride, hm? Gunguns not always sensible!" Burban tutted and Dawn giggled, grabbing another jar of the green paste as the healer called for the next Gungun to come into the room.

"Jar Jar, what's yousa done now?" The healer said with a sigh as soon as she saw who it was. Dawn looked up interested, Burban's voice was so exasperated.

"Goodun day, Healer Burban." A squeaky voice said sheepishly. This gungan looked a bit younger than most of the ones they had tended so far. It was one of the taller gunguns – Dawn had come to realise during the day that the tall and short gunguns appeared to almost be different breeds – but this Gungun almost looked as though its limbs were too long for it. It tripped into the bubble, swerving and almost sending a tray of supplies flying. Only Dawn's quick reactions stopped everything from hitting the floor.

"Mesa sorry," the gungun said sorrowfully. "Mesa clumsy."

"Yousa can say that again, Jar Jar Binks!" Burban exclaimed, bustling around. "Yousa always here needing da fixing. What's a wrong dis time?"

Jar Jar didn't answer, he was looking at Dawn with a puzzled expression. "Who yousa? Yousa new?"

"I'm Dawn," she explained with a wave.

"Dawnee helping healers." Burban explained. "Shesa new to Otoh Gunga. Jar Jar is here often," she explained to Dawn. "Always da cuts and bumps."

Jar Jar nodded, so enthusiastically he nearly overbalanced. "Mesa hurts mesa arm today." He held out the appendage and Dawn could tell it was swollen. Burban poked and prodded it, tutting loudly.

"Needs cold and paste," she proclaimed. "Dawnee, gets some yellow paste please. Is best for bumps."" Dawn obliged, handing the healer the colour paste. Healer Burban smeared it onto Jar Jar's arm, who sighed in relief and almost seemed to flop downwards.

"Thankee," he grinned.

If the gunguns could eye roll, Burban would have at that comment, Dawn was sure of it. "Go now, Jar Jar. Mesa no want to see yousa again for a while!"

With a salute the lanky gungun was gone. Burban shook her head exasperatedly at him. "Hesa will be back soon," she predicted to Dawn. "Now, wesa finished for da day."

Dawn yawned widely. "It's tiring!" she commented. "Thank you, I've learnt loads."

The healer waved her off. "Go now and check on yousa sister. Get some rest, we do again tomorrow."

There was no change in Buffy's condition. The healer who was watching over her assured Dawn that she was fine, just not waking up. Dawn sat with Buffy for a while, telling her about Naboo, the gunguns and her day. Eventually she went to bed, just hoping Buffy woke up the next day.

Buffy didn't. She also didn't wake the day after that, or the day after that. Dawn carried on helping Healer Burban and exploring Otoh Gunga with Captain Tarpals. Both tried to educate Dawn in the ways of the Gungan, which was all about being in harmony with the Living Force that flowed around them. Dawn soaked up as much information as she could about the place where they'd ended up, but she was still preoccupied with her sister's condition.

It was the next day, as she told Buffy everything that had happened that day – consisting of finally learning how to make the green paste for cuts, Jar Jar coming in again with another bump and Captain Tarpals bringing Dawn some Basic texts to begin to read through – that Dawn suddenly stopped talking mid-flow as Buffy's finger twitched.

"Buffy?" Dawn cried, standing up and leaning towards her sister. "Buffy, can you hear me?"

Buffy's eyelids flickered, her fingers twitched and her breathing became less regular. With an effort, she opened up her eyes and looked up at Dawn.

"Dawn?" She said, voice croaking and evidently confused. "Dawn, where am I?" Her gaze flickered past Dawn, at the toad-like Healer Burban who was now coming in to see her waking patient.

"Dawn, am I in hell?"


	4. The Boss

Buffy lay on her back, looking up through the ceiling of the bubble room at the fish floating lazily above. Dawn was right, she thought abstractly. It was soothing. It gave her a way to try to sort through her thoughts in relative peace and quiet.

With a sigh she rolled over and looked at her sleeping sister. Dawn had somehow cocooned herself in the blanket she was covered with, only the top of her head poking free at the end of it. Well, the top of her head at one end and her toes at the other. Buffy shook her head, bemoaning again that she was the shortest in her family. God, the monks made Dawn out of her, so why wasn't Dawn short too?

Flopping back onto her back and staring up at the fish again, Buffy thought about the events of the night before. She vaguely remembered thinking that she might be in hell, or at least a form of hell dimension that contained weird frog demons. It was even more surreal to find out that they weren't actually demons at all but rather aliens. And the way Dawn said it, as though that made everything better.

Why was Dawn with her in the first place? Buffy had jumped into the portal, sure that it would kill her. She was convinced that was the only way for the ritual to be complete and for the portal to close. At first she had been worried that it was still open, that Sunnydale was being ripped apart, but Dawn told her it did close. Dawn saw it closing and then right at the end there was a flash of light and they woke up in a forest. Well, Dawn woke in a forest. Buffy was all about the Sleeping Beauty.

It took a lot of reassurance and holding Dawn so close that Buffy could hear her heart beat to convince the slayer that neither she nor Dawn were dead. Surprisingly, it took far less time to accept that the frog things were aliens, they just didn't give off demon vibes. In fact, nothing much here did, which was really strange in itself. She hadn't realised how much she'd been living with so much demon energy around, she'd actually begun to just ignore it. Now that she was free from it, she was relishing in the soothing feel of nothing crawling against her skin, just a peace washing over her. And it was peaceful, the water muffled all noise and there was nothing but the sound of Buffy's own breathing and Dawn's soft snores.

Now there was just the question of how they were going to get home. Dawn seemed perfectly happy to stay here indefinitely, but Buffy had responsibilities back home and couldn't just ignore them. Dawn had said something about trying to find an answer with the Naboo, but that would be ages away. Buffy wasn't sure she could wait that long.

Buffy eventually sat up and swung her legs around to be sitting on the edge of the bed. It must be sometime in the morning, probably very early as no one had come in to wake them yet. Apparently Dawn was helping out the healers while learning about this place, being taught to read again. Buffy wasn't sure what they would ask her to do, but she guessed not healing. She'd never really tried to understand it, given that with her slayer healing most wounds didn't need more than a basic dressing. Buffy looked down at her own smooth arms. Apparently when they arrived she had been covered in small cuts and burns but these were long since healed. She rolled her head, cracking her neck and looked for the clothes that the head healer person had given her last night.

Buffy was less than amused to find that she was wearing a robe thing like the healer instead of the tunic and trousers Dawn had been given to wear. Yet again another downside to being so short. She dropped the hem of the robe down and crinkled her nose when she saw it pooling on the floor by her feet. After searching for shoes and finding none she decided to explore a little. She crept out of the first room that she and Dawn were sleeping in, into a connected room that seemed to be some form of sitting room.

"Yousa need to go to Naboo and get da human clothes." The quiet, deep voice made her jump, she spun around to see one of the tall, thin gunguns standing in the room, holding a bowl of something. "Mesa sees you up," the new arrival told her as he held out the bowl. "Mesa Captain Tarpals, bring yousa to Otoh Gunga from da forest."

"Um, hi," Buffy started awkwardly. "I'm Buffy. Dawn's sister. But… you brought us from the forest so you already know that."

The gungun nodded. "Come, wesa go for a walk so nots to wake Dawnee." He gestured out of the bubble that acted as their quarters. Buffy considered for a moment before passing him and ducking out of the door.

As soon as she did so, she found herself in a corridor made up of several smaller bubbles merged together. The walkway was a curving path with no handrails, although it was easy enough to follow. Buffy gazed around her, still unable to believe what was in front of her eyes. "Yousa like?" Captain Tarpals asked her in his gruff voice.

"It's…wow." Buffy replied, still gazing around. "How do you build this?"

"It is grown," the captain replied. "Wesa grow da bubbles."

"Grown? Really?" Buffy reached out to touch. The exterior, amazed by the cool and smooth texture. "How do you grow rooms?"

Captain Tarpals shrugged. "Mesa not know details, mesa Captain."

Buffy nodded again, then turned to the Captain. "Dawn said you found us and brought us here. Thank you, for looking after Dawn."

The gungun smiled at her. "Mesa like Dawnee. Shesa not like da Naboo humans, dey think dat wesa not clever because wesa no do art and culture like dey do. But wesa has our own things."

"That you do," Buffy replied. By now they had reached the end of the corridor and they were walking past a series of larger bubbles that seemed to house people. Some were opaque while some weren't, and Buffy looked inside any that she could curiously.

"Here," Captain Tarpals said, thrusting the bowl he had been carrying the whole time under Buffy's nose as he guided her towards a curved bench along the outside of one of the bubbles. "Is food," he told her helpfully when she still looked confused. "Is good for mornings."

Buffy wasn't convinced but took the offered bowl, seeing some strange mush in there. She gave it a tentative sniff, it smelt savoury but the smell of food had her realising quite how hungry she was. She nearly tore a spoon-like device out of the captain's hands when he held it out for her and began wolfing it down. It was strange tasting, fishy and salty but with a hint of sweetness, but in her hungry state she really didn't care.

When she finished, she sheepishly held out the bowl. "That was good," she told Captain Tarpals. "Where can I put this?"

He chuckled at her. "Wesa go to the city big space," he told her. "Wesa take bowl back dere. Also, Big Boss wanting to sees yousa when yousa wakes. Is good chance to gets it over with."

"Big Boss," Buffy gulped, suddenly feeling very nervous. She thought she remembered Dawn saying something about having to talk to the boss or something, Buffy wished that she had paid more attention but there had been just so much information and she had been trying not to freak out at the time.

"Come, isa dis way." Captain Tarpals said, standing and gesturing onwards. Buffy nodded and silently stood and began to follow him. "No needs to be afraid," Tarpals reassured her. "Mesa gives advice – tell truths and yousa be fine."

"It's alright for you to say," Buffy grumbled. "I've been unconscious for days, and the minute I wake up I have to go and explain myself. It feels like I'm being sent to the Principal's office."

The captain looked back with a frown on his face. "Is ok? Mesa forgets yousa been hurts. Yousa seem ok now. Could do later?"

Buffy sighed. "No, let's get it over with. I am ok, yay for slayer healing." The last bit was muttered under her breath sarcastically, but judging from the captain's confused expression he had heard it anyway. She made a mental note that the gunguns had good hearing.

But then they entered the city big space and Buffy forgot her nerves in the face of her amazement. It was one huge bubble structure, with criss-crossing walkways and rooms. Tarpals gave her a moment or two to take it all in, before strolling across the open plaza in the middle of it. Buffy hurried to follow, noticing that while it was still so early that few gunguns were around, those that were gave Buffy and Tarpals a wide berth.

"Your people don't seem to like me very much," she said in a loud whisper, watching one of the gunguns duck behind a cart of some kind as she looked its way.

Tarpals nodded solemnly. "Wesa not have many outsiders here. Yousa look like da Naboo, but yousa friendly. Dey are nervous, but interested. Dawnee has been workin with da healers, dey coming to know she is not a threat." He glanced sideways at Buffy. "Boss Nass like to pretend dat he stupid, but Dawnee helping healers is one of da best ways for da gungun to accept her."

"Pretends to be dumb but actually smart," Buffy thought out loud. She flashed Tarpals one of her best valley girl smiles. "I can work with that!" The dour captain, not for the first time that morning, chuckled at her antics before leading her across the plaza.

Eventually they reached an ornate doorway with a pair of gungun standing outside of it. One of them cocked their head at Tarpals, questioning him in a gruff voice. "Dis da other human?"

"Hi!" Buffy replied perkily. "My name's Buffy, I understand that Boss Nass wanted to see me when I woke up?" She checked with the captain as she spoke, making sure that she pronounced the name correctly and breathing a small sigh of relief when he nodded.

"Let mesa see if da council is ready," the guard told her sternly. "Is early." He disappeared into the room, the door closing behind him. Buffy could just about see into the interior through the bubble walls but not enough to make out any detail. Resigning herself, she waited while the guard was gone.

By the time he returned, Buffy was tapping her foot in impatience for the delay. "Yousa can go in now," he informed them both. With a nod of thanks, Buffy entered the chamber.

Once inside, Tarpals indicated that she should stand in the middle as Dawn had done a few days earlier. Buffy looked up at the council above her, five gunguns looking down at her from their lofty perches. The middle one tilted his head and clicked a few times.

"Yousa da sister of Dawnee."

He made it a statement, but Buffy felt it still needed a reply. "Yes, my name is Buffy."

There was a pause while the gungun watched her, his toad like features furrowed in thought. Buffy assumed that this must be the big boss, Boss Nass. Eventually he spoke, his voice booming around the room. "Dawnee tells usen dat you jump into portal to try to save her. Den you come here."

"Um yes, I guess so." Buffy looked around, the feeling of being watched by all the gunguns was unnerving. "I don't remember the part where we came here, I actually thought I needed to die to close the portal…"

There was a collective gasp that caused Buffy to stutter to a halt. "Yousa thought yousa going to die?" Boss Nass stated eventually.

"Yes…"

"Hmmm," he pulled out a pipe from somewhere within his voluminous sleeves and puffed on it a few times, a tendril of smoke drifting into the air. "So yousa brave. What other skills yousa have?"

Buffy panicked, she never had good scores on anything! What was she meant to say? "I can slay stuff?"

Buffy's bubbly voice and happy smile as she pronounced that seemed to confuse the Big Boss. "Yousa can…slay? Yousa?"

"Yep," she replied. She looked around at the gunguns who were watching her – as well as the five on the platform, Captain Tarpals stood with the two guards behind her. "I was a kind of warrior, back at home, called the Slayer. I am stronger than I look."

One of the gungun guards sniggered a laugh, Buffy ignored him as she watched Boss Nass. He had leant forwards and was watching her curiously. Eventually he nodded.

"Captain Tarpals."

"Yes Big Boss sir?" The gungun snapped to attention beside Buffy.

"Take Buffy and see if shesa is good as a warrior." He gazed at Buffy. "Yousa were prepared to die to save yousa sister, mesa thinks you is a warrior. If yousa is good, yousa can help to train da younglings. Dey needs some respect. Also, yousa learn da Basic with yousa sister, wesa needs to trade with da Naboo."

Training youngsters… Buffy could do that. "Sure, when do you want to test me?"

"Not today," Tarpals told her, scowling at her eagerness. "Yousa been injured, wesa waits til tomorrow."

Buffy tried not to sound too disappointed, it made sense. Still, she was itching to get back to training. "I guess that's fair. So what today?"

"Today, yousa see our training rooms," Boss Nass announced. "Yousa needs to find yousa way around Otoh Gunga." He frowned, peering at her. "And yousa needs to learn to swim."

Buffy's eyes went wide. "Swim?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dawn was trying hard not to worry about Buffy. Her first thoughts that morning, when she'd woken in the small room alone for the first time with no sign of her older sister, had been blind panic. It was only talking to one of the healers in the corridor who reassured Dawn that he had seen Buffy with Captain Tarpals that calmed the girl down. She liked Captain Tarpals and knew that he would look after Buffy.

She then got on with her usual daily tasks, but not much was happening in the healing rooms of Otoh Gunga today. Eventually she sat down with a book of Basic that she thought was probably used to teach infants and started familiarising herself with the strange characters.

It was a little while later that Dawn looked up as a loud crash echoed around the healing bubble. She ran out, ready to help, to find Jar Jar Binks sprawled on the floor looking up at three healer gunguns sheepishly.

"Mesa here to see Dawnee," he told them. "Mesa tink it is quiet, maybe Dawnee would like to see some city?"

Healer Burban sniffed at the prone figure of the clumsy gungun.

"Yousa needs to be more careful, Jar Jar! Dawnee can go wid yousa if she wants, but shesa must learn da Basic too."

"Mesa can teach!" Jar Jar announced happily. "Mesa good with da letters. It da moving mesa have da problems with."

Healer Burban turned to Dawn. "Is quiet Dawnee, if yousa wants to go with Jar Jar is ok. Comes back for sundown."

Dawn weighed up her options. One the one hand she could stay here, try to learn Basic by herself and get bored waiting for Buffy to finally show up, whereas on the other… she looked down at Jar Jar Binks who gave her a beaming smile.

"I guess I'll go with Jar Jar," she shrugged. "Would be nice to see more of the city."

"Yes!" The young gungun pumped his fist happily. "Wesa go to da spawning rooms, da city bigspace, da eateries, da ancient city…" he carried on happily listing places as he scrambled up and all but dragged Dawn from the room, Dawn frantically mouthing 'help!' to the healers who laughed and waved her away.

Jar Jar Binks talked. A lot. He was also really clumsy and it was easy to see why he was always in the healing rooms. But he was a much better guide than Dawn expected, his enthusiasm infectious as they walked around Otoh Gunga.

One of their first stops had been the City Bigspace and some of the market stalls there. Jar Jar generously bought Dawn some crunchy sea food snacks, long since devoured, and a strange bubble drink. Dawn wasn't sure what it was but it was sweet, refreshing and had fun little bubble things that popped with flavour. These bubbles lasted ages so Dawn was able to take her time and savour it.

Jar Jar was busy telling Dawn about the school he had just left and some of his friends when she stopped him gently with a hand on his arm. Up ahead were two figures she actually recognised – Buffy and Captain Tarpals.

"Buffy!" She cried, waving energetically at her sister. "Where did you go?"

She was rewarded by both Buffy and the captain approaching them. "Did you know we have to learn how to swim?" Buffy asked as soon as she arrived.

"What, swim?" Dawn was confused. "No, no one has told me I need to swim." Her face dropped. "Wait, am I going to have to?"

"But yousa lives under da water!" Jar Jar stated. "Of course yousa learns to swim. How else yousa gets to surface?" He waved his hand theatrically to emphasise his point, forgetting that he was holding a cup of bubble drink.

Both sisters looked horrified, Dawn at the thought of swimming and Buffy because she was now covered in the remains of Jar Jar's bubble drink.

"But I don't know how to swim! We're from California!"

"Oh my god, what is that goo?"

Captain Tarpals chuckled, his deep voice rumbling throatily. He put one hand reassuringly on the shoulder of each girl. "Swimming is not hard, wesa teach yousa. Gets some more clothes too."

"Hmm," Buffy looked down at her outfit disdainfully. "Is there any chance we can visit the Naboo and get outfits sometime soon? I'm not cut out for the homeless vibe. And we really need to try to find a way home."

"When yousa can swim and read Basic," Tarpals told her solemnly. "Else how yousa see da prices?"

Even Buffy had to concede that point – how could she shop without knowing whether she was getting a bargain? But what currency did they even use? There was a lot to learn. God, she missed home – Hellmouth and all.

As though sensing her mood, Captain Tarpals turned to Jar Jar. "Jar Jar, mesa take Dawnee and Buffee back to dere room, dey gots lot to talks about."

"Okay-doke," Jar Jar nodded. "Can mesa come and visit tomorrow, Dawnee?"

"Um, sure," she replied, casting a glance at her sister. "Maybe you can show me more of the city?"

"Yes please! Bye bye for now," Jar Jar replied, waving as he disappeared across the City Bigspace. Tarpals shook his head fondly as he turned to the girls.

"Come on, lets get you home and some food, hmm?"


	5. The Lesson

Buffy put aside the drink she was holding and turned to her sister. “You’re getting on well here? You like it?”

“Yes!” Was Dawn’s enthusiastic reply. “The stuff the healers are teaching me is so interesting and everyone has been really friendly.”

Buffy nodded, thinking carefully about how to phrase the next question. “Have you thought about getting home?”

Dawn’s face fell. “I knew you were gonna ask about that. But… do we have to? At home it was stressful and there was that Glory woman and everything.”

“But we don’t belong here, Dawn.” Buffy said gently. “I know everyone is really friendly but we’re humans from Earth, not gungans from Naboo.”

Dawn sighed deeply. “I was worried you’d say something like that.”

"The Big Boss didn’t say anything, so I assume the gungans don’t know how to help us. We’re going to have to ask the Naboo, so learning to read whatever language they use has to be the first priority.”

“Captain Tarpals said we might need to ask them,” Dawn remembered, thinking back on their conversations. “And Basic isn’t that hard really, it just uses a different alphabet so it looks complicated. It’s fairly similar to ancient Sumerian though.”

Buffy gaped at her. “How do you know what ancient Sumerian looks like?”

Dawn wouldn’t meet Buffy’s eyes. “Well, when I was helping Giles organise the Magic Shop I noticed he had some interesting looking texts in ancient Sumerian, so…”

“So you decided to what? Learn the language so you could read it?”

“Giles always said it was something he wasn’t able to read very well.” Dawn said defensively. “I just wanted to be useful. You get to go out all the time and save the day while I get left with Giles doing homework.”

“Well that’s… ok, I guess can see how that must feel. But Dawn, you’re too young! Plus it isn’t your job.”

“I know that!” Dawn huffed. “I was just saying.” She rolled her eyes and stood up. “I’m going to head back and see if Healer Burban needs anything. At least she appreciates my help.”

“Dawn!” Buffy called after her sister, but Dawn was already striding away. Buffy thought about letting her work off her strop but realised that without Captain Tarpals she didn’t know how to get back. “Dawn, wait!”

Buffy ran after her sister, catching her easily despite Dawn’s long strides.

“Can’t you just give me a few minutes?” Dawn snarked, not looking at Buffy.

“I gave you five days, wasn’t that enough?” Buffy asked innocently, earning herself another eye roll. They walked in silence for a few moments before Buffy tentatively tried talking again. “Look, I didn’t mean for you to get left out, Dawnie. I just wanted to keep you safe.”

“Yeah, well look how that turned out.” Dawn shot back. Buffy stopped mid stride, the weight of her failure hitting hard. Dawn realised immediately that she had gone too far and turned back to her sister apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“No, it’s ok Dawn. You’re right, I didn’t keep you safe. I failed. And it’s because of that failure that we’re here.”

“No, Buffy!” Dawn shook her head emphatically. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. Well,” she amended. “It’s Glory’s fault. But not yours!”

Buffy smiled weakly. It would take a lot more than Dawn telling her she hadn’t failed her little sister for her to believe it.

“Come on,” Dawn said, linking her arm with Buffy’s. “Healer Burban always knows where to find good food. Let’s go and see what she’s up to.”

Buffy allowed herself to be towed along with Dawn, wondering at what point her baby sister got quite so wise.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

“This is hopeless!”

Buffy threw the book she was trying to read across the bubble in a fit of pique. She’d woken up this morning determined to understand enough to at least be able to get around in the Naboo world so that she could find some answers, but reading Basic was a lot harder than she had thought it would be. The characters made absolutely no sense and there were so many of them! Plus, she felt pent up. She hadn’t sat around so much since before she’d been called as a slayer.

Dawn raised her eyebrows and smugly turned the chapter in her own book, one that Buffy could see was a couple of books ahead of the one she was reading. Buffy resisted sticking her tongue out, determined to take the high ground.

“I need to do something.” She muttered, jiggling her leg agitatedly.

“I thought learning Basic was doing something,” Dawn commented as she turned the page in her book.

“No!” Buffy leapt up. “Not that…something – gah! I need to slay something! What can I slay?”

Dawn put down her book after noting her place. “Why can’t you ever just be normal?” She pouted rhetorically. “You’re so weird.”

Now Buffy did stick her tongue out, which Dawn quickly reciprocated. Before sororal relations could deteriorate any further, Healer Burban entered their bubble.

“Dawnee, yousa come help in sick bay today? Will show yousa how to make da bruise paste.”

“Sure,” Dawn leapt off of the bed she was sitting on, grabbing her book as she did so. “Maybe I can see if I can read the ingredients? My Basic is getting better.”

Healer Burban nodded sagely. “Isa good, needs ingredients from Naboo so useful. Yousa,” Burban fixed Buffy with a stern glare. “Captain Tarpals be waiting outside.”

“Finally!” Buffy nearly leapt out of the door. “I’ll see you tonight, Dawn!”

Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister as she packed up her books to follow Healer Burban. Meanwhile, Buffy had nearly collided with Captain Tarpals outside the bubble.

“Hey, the healer lady said you were here!”

“Isa time to see you ‘slay’.” The captain confirmed. “Wesa go to da training space, der be some younglings dere dat need some work.”

“Ok, great!” Buffy enthused, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Lead the way!”

Buffy practically skipped alongside the tall gungan as they walked through the city, something he regarded with amusement. “Yousa feeling better den.”

“Oh, yeah.” Buffy slowed her bouncing a bit. “Sorry, I just get a bit… stir crazy, you know?”

The captain shook his head fondly. “Yousa might needs your energy for the younglings! Dey very tiring.”

Buffy suddenly looked wary. “I thought you were going to see what I could do today? You know, like a spar?”

“Yes,” Tarpals confirmed. “But if yousa do ok, yousa can start to teach the younglings too.”

Buffy looked at him sceptically but by this point they had reached a large open space, lined with padded cushions. It looked like a training room, although there were no punching bags or weights in sight. Thankfully, there also weren’t any other gungans present.

“Dis is where we start da training.” The captain explained. “Once dey have basics, we go to surface where dere is more space.”

“OK,” Buffy said, looking around. “I guess I can work with this. What do you want to do?”

Captain Tarpals shrugged off the outer layer of his attire, leaving himself standing in a simple tunic. “You know what dis is?” He asked, picking up a long metal rod with a pointed end. It would have looked like some kind of lance, if it wasn’t for the electricity that cracked around its end.

Buffy looked at it blankly. “No, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Hmm.” The captain seemed to think for a moment. “Den we not use. Isa pole, we use for da fighting.”

“Like a tazer?” Tarpals’s face remained blank, Buffy sighed. “Never mind. But I don’t want to see a tazer again.” She shuddered at the memory of the Initiative, a secretive arm of the United States Army that captured and experimented on demons. Buffy had been forced to infiltrate and destroy their covert base in Sunnydale when their leader had created a robot-demon hybrid that took over and started to make its own hybrid army.

“Now, to see how good yousa is, yousa must try to knock mesa down.” The captain instructed, taking up a defensive stance. Buffy eyed him warily, with the amount of muscle and sinew he was made of she didn’t think he’d be a pushover. Well, not if she was a human anyway. Luckily for her, she’d taken on many demons bigger and stronger than he likely was.

Roos Tarpals, for his part, waited while the girl sized him up. He expected her to make a pretty good attempt if she was a warrior amongst her people, but he didn’t really expect any human to be able to take down a Gungan single handed. Particularly if both were unarmed. Still, if she showed promising techniques she would do ok with the younglings, who really were uncoordinated and needed all the help they could get.

Buffy waited for so long before moving that the captain began to think that she wouldn’t. He shifted weight slightly and that was all it took to prompt her into action. Within a split second he was wheezing on his back, while Buffy was back where she started.

Buffy smirked as the Gungan stared up at her with wide eyes. “How yousa do dat?!?”

“I told you, I’m the Slayer.” She tossed her blond hair back haughtily. “Come on, that was a good warm up but we’ve barely started. What else have you got?”

The captain climbed to his feet and took up the defensive stance again. This time, Buffy moved more slowly – she didn’t think she had a point to prove anymore and valued the training opportunity. And it was an opportunity, once he realised she was treating it like a training session Captain Tarpals responded in type, correcting stances and footwork and suggesting alternatives when he thought it might help. The two circled together, dancing an elaborate dance that drew a crowd of onlookers as the younglings arrived for their training sessions.

Both fighters were aware of it, but Buffy was having too much fun to care and Tarpals thought it was a good training opportunity for them. He could tell that Buffy was pulling her punches and not going at top speed – for which he was thankful – but it was still a different level of sparring from anything the youngsters had yet achieved.

Eventually Captain Tarpals called a halt, raising one hand wearily. “Mesa say yousa definitely a warrior.” His eyes shone with a new respect for the girl who had barely broken a sweat while he was now exhausted. He looked around at the younglings gathered, plus several other gungans who had been passing and wanted to see what the fuss was about.

“Dis is Buffee,” he introduced. “Shesa human but not Naboo. Shesa goings to help train yousa all.” More than one youngling swallowed nervously at this announcement, shifting weight from foot to foot as they looked at the small woman who had just gone toe to toe with their captain and didn’t even look out of breath. “Shesa great warrior called da Slayer. Yousa will show her respects!” This was a command; all the younglings and several of the other onlookers nodded vigorously, large ears flapping in agreement after what they had just witnessed.

Captain Tarpals scanned the room with a critical eye. “Younglings who are meant to be here, get into positions. If yousa not meant to be here, please make space for da younglings.”

Buffy stepped backwards against the wall of the training room as a group of about twenty or so youngsters filed in and stood in a regimental arrangement. She swallowed nervously, she hadn’t spared much time thinking about the youngsters while sparring but now she felt the weight of all the eyes on her.

“Now,” Captain Tarpals started from the front. “Wesa work on form today. Take da defensive pose.” As one the younglings moved into the same defensive pose that Tarpals had taken when facing Buffy. Tarpals walked up to one and slightly corrected the pose, widening the stance and helping to build up the core. Taking his cue, Buffy started the same process with the nearest younglings to her, trying to ignore the mixture of fear and awe that the young gungans were staring at her with.

Once they’d covered all the students, Captain Tarpals gestured for Buffy to rejoin him at the front. “Now wesa talks about why dis stance not always da best if against warrior – or slayer.” He shot a sly look at Buffy and she beamed when she realised that the dour captain was actually joking with her in front of the students, who all looked a bit bemused.

Captain Tarpals took up the same defensive stance he had at the beginning. “Isa not often dat da gungans are without dere poles, but sometimes wesa might get caught unawares. What is da weakness of dis?”

There was silence from the young gungans, all shuffling and looking at the ground to avoid being called on.

“Slayer, does yousa know?” It was strange hearing Captain Tarpals calling her ‘Slayer’ as a title. She’d heard it a lot before, often snarled from the mouth of the slayee as they tried to out-quip her or tell her about how she’d never beat them yada yada. But to hear it spoken so respectfully brought a whole new meaning to the word. For one of the first times in her life, Buffy felt that being the slayer was something to be respected. She stood up a fraction taller subconsciously.

“It leaves your left side slightly open,” she responded as she gestured to Captain Tarpals’s side. “Your weight isn’t stable enough, so if I feint to the right…” she pretended to throw a punch and was gratified to see the captain move accordingly. “Then you shift your weight too far forwards and it just takes a step to the left to catch you.” Again she demonstrated to the wide eyed gaze of the young gungans as they watched her land a blow, no matter how gently she actually tapped him, on their much vaunted teacher.

“Isa correct!” Captain Tarpals told her with a smile. “Most would not exploit dis weakness, but if you come up against da Slayer, or a Jedi, den you would be in big doodoo.”

They discussed the stance for a while longer, Buffy explaining how to strengthen it and Captain Tarpals pointing out factors she hadn’t even thought of. At some point Buffy realised she was probably learning as much as the students were, Captain Tarpals had a significant level of experience that he was happy to impart.

Eventually they finished up, after watching the students pair off and begin to trade blows. Buffy felt so much better after working out most of her frustration and by the time they were finished she was pleased to be walking back to the bubble with the Captain.

“Yousa did good,” he told her with a smile. “Da younglings, dey respect you. Dey will already be talking of da Slayer.”

Buffy brushed a strand of hair back out of her eyes. She’d tied her hair in a messy ponytail earlier but it was beginning to get loose and irritate her after they exertion. “I enjoyed it,” she admitted. “Far more than I thought I would. I don’t know why I’ve never thought to teach before, but I had fun.”

“Isa good,” Captain Tarpals nodded. “Yousa can do a lot for our younglings, prepare dem for da world outside da city.”

“Is it bad for them out there?” Buffy asked, feeling a stab of alarm. She was already so used to the relaxed feeling inside the city that she hadn’t really thought about whether it was different outside.

Roos took a moment to consider her question before answering. “No, not bad. But different. Dere are threats dey don’t see here. Especially in da water.” He looked at her shrewdly. “How yousa at da underwater fight?”

“Fighting underwater?” Buffy’s eyes shot wide. “I don’t… I mean, I’ve never done it! I do know how to swim a bit, but I haven’t for years. I’ve never really swum underwater or anything.”

“Hmmm…” The Captain shook his head. “Never mind den. Da water has big dangers, especially in da core.”

“Maybe I could look into it when I can swim better.” Buffy mused. Really, she was just hoping for the chance to slay something. The chance to hunt. It was completely the slayer in her talking, but after that afternoon she was beginning to think that maybe being the slayer wasn’t so bad.

As they entered the City Big Space, Buffy began to hear the murmuring around her. With a frown she realised that the gungans were talking about her in hushed whispers. Captain Tarpals lifted one of his large ears to try to hear what they were saying, before turning to Buffy with an amused expression.

“Mesa told yousa. Dey talking about da fierce warrior called da Slayer who is here to help da gungans.”

“Wow, news travels fast.” Buffy commented, feeling slightly uncomfortable form all the curious stares. Still, it was better than gungans hiding away from her.

“Yousa stronger da most humans.” Captain Tarpals stated as a fact. “In fact, mesa thinks yousa would even be able to beat a Jedi.” He shook his head in near wonder.

It was the second time that Captain Tarpals had used the term Jedi today. “What is a Jedi, exactly?” Buffy asked. “Some form of warrior species?”

Captain Tarpals stopped and stared at her in amazement. “You no knows da Jedi? Yousa really is from another world.” He continued walking, frowning to himself. “Da Jedi, dey not a species. Dey many species! Is a lot rumour, maybe not truths.” He shrugged at Buffy, who nodded to show she understood. “Da Jedi, dey use something called da Force to help dem. Some say dey got great speed, great fighting, ability to affect minds. Mesa not know for sure. Da gungans, dey not become da Jedi.”

“How do you become a Jedi?” Buffy asked curiously. Tarpals thought for a moment.

“Da Jedis, dey know when dere a new Jedi hatched. Dey take the younglings and raise with other Jedi younglings. Mesa not know more. Gungans, we feel da living force but da Cosmic Force da Jedi uses, we nots feel it.”

“They take away babies?” Buffy asked, somewhat horrified. Tarpals shrugged.

“Isa what da rumours say.”

“How do they get away with that? Doesn’t anyone try to stop them?”

The captain looked at her curiously. “Tis an honour, mesa thinks. To be a Jedi... dey learn things dat no one else does. Dey warriors, peace keepers and much more.”

“So you’re saying that they kidnap babies, yet people look up to them and see them as what – some kind of galactic security protectors? Next you’ll be telling me that they act as judge, jury and executioner.”

“Well...”

“Wow.” Buffy shook her head. “It sounds scarily like the watcher’s council.” On seeing Captain Tarpals’s curious expression, Buffy elaborated. “A group of men who were supposed to look after the slayers and the slayer line. Which actually meant sitting in a stuffy building a long way away from where they were sending young women to their deaths making pompous decisions that only benefitted themselves.”

Captain Tarpals couldn’t seem to think of an argument to that. “Mesa think yousa probably right.” He then stopped and turned towards Buffy, catching her arm to turn her to face him too. “Da Jedi not come here, but mesa no think you want to get caught up in dem. Dere is something about yousa and Dawnee, something dat affects da Living Force. Mesa no know if da Jedi feel da Living Force like they do da Cosmic Force, but if dey find you mesa thinks yousa will find it hard to get away from dere grasp.”

“Avoid Jedi, got it.” Buffy started walking again, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “But if they never come here, then it sounds as though we don’t have to worry about it unless we leave!”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Over the next few days, life settled into a routine for Dawn and Buffy. Every morning, Dawn would be whisked away by Healer Burban to learn how to make the various medications that the gungans needed and to help out in the healing rooms. Buffy would meet up with Captain Tarpals and help instruct the younglings, then both sisters would work together on Basic in the evenings before turning in to bed.

The younglings improved quickly under Buffy and Tarpals’s combined instruction. The captain also insisted on either starting or finishing each session with a sparring session with Buffy, helping to instruct the younglings on technique but also to hone Buffy’s. They started off with hand-to-hand but soon moved onto sparring with the poles that the captain had shown Buffy on the first day. Buffy very soon picked up the hang of it, it reminded her of the staves that Giles had insisted she practice with – that is, if staves were electric and pointy at one end.

It wasn’t just the young gungans that were learning under Captain Tarpals’s patient tutelage. Despite still being stronger and faster than him, Buffy found that his experience with different fighting styles made him a formidable opponent. He also took time to point out weak points in her technique or decisions she could have made differently, taking time after each bout to analyse it. This was supposedly done for the benefit of the watching younglings, but Buffy was absorbing all the tips she was given and he felt ever more confident in her fighting style. It helped that despite not being able to match Slayer strength Tarpals was far stronger and more agile than a normal human and was a much fairer opposition.

It didn’t take long for word of the human warrior called the Slayer to circulate amongst the Gungan, particularly those that frequented the training rooms. Buffy wasn’t aware that the audience for her bouts with Tarpals had grown larger and larger, but even she noticed that gungans that previously hid away from her were beginning to watch her with curiosity. The bravest even started to come up to her to ask questions about techniques or to make conversation. As they were met with a smile and friendliness even the more nervous started to be bolder. Unknowingly, Buffy was single-handedly thawing gungan-human relations.

Dawn’s work in the Healing Rooms helped as well. The innocent questions the younger girl enthusiastically asked all the patients coming in about their lives and gungan culture softened even the dourest gungan. It helped that she’d also struck up an unlikely friendship with Jar Jar Binks. This meant that he wasn’t getting in anyone else’s way with his clumsy manner, and won her even more gratitude and good feeling amongst the gungan community.

It was a week or two into their new routine that Healer Burban and Captain Tarpals announced that they didn’t need either of the sisters that day. Dawn immediately celebrated, but Buffy caught the glint in the captain’s eye that she knew signalled trouble.

“What’s the catch?”

“Today, yousa start to learn to swim!” Captain Tarpals informed them triumphantly.

Immediately Dawn blanched. “Oh but I can’t...”

“Yes, yousa can.” Healer Burban told her firmly. “Come on.”

They were led to a specific bubble, where the bottom was open to the water below. The hole was about three metres in diameter, surrounded by a raised platform that had the water lapping at the edge of it. Currents and eddies in the large lake caused ripples across the surface of the water and an occasional fish bobbed to the surface, saw the group clustered around the edge and dove away with a splash.

“What now?” Buffy asked.

Healer Burban looked at her, confused. “Now, yousa swim.”

“In this?” Buffy gestured to her outfit. Despite managing to find a pair of loose trousers that she rolled up each time she sparred, she was still wearing the long robes most of the time. She didn’t think she could be dressed in anything that looked less appropriate for swimming.

“Yes.” Captain Tarpals told her. “Isa gungan material, isa good for swimming.”

Buffy looked at her outfit and shrugged. “If you say so.” In truth, she was quite excited about swimming. It would be a good way to keep fit and she’d felt envious watching the gungans effortlessly gliding around the outside of the city. It was also a way for her to get to the surface – much as she’d loved being in the gungan city so far, she missed the feeling of open space around her. She’d learnt as a child but hadn’t swum for many years.

Buffy cast a glance at Dawn, who was trembling next to her. Impulsively she grabbed her little sister’s hand and squeezed tight. “You’ll be ok.” She told her. “Just remember what you learnt when mum sent us for lessons when we were little.”

Dawn turned her large eyes towards her sister. “But Buffy, I didn’t really do that! That’s just stuff the monks made up. I’ve never actually swum.” Her voice tailed off as she gulped loudly, staring at the water.

Healer Burban took pity on the younger girl.

“First, yousa get in da water.” She said gently, gesturing at the pool. “Is ok, gungan clothes will keep you warm.”

Dawn nodded hesitantly, before sitting down on the edge and dangling her bare feet in. Taking a deep breath she slipped in, her whole body submerging before panicked strokes brought her back to the surface, grasping for anything to keep her up.

A steady presence next to her helped guide her back to the edge of the pool and when Dawn finally opened her eyes she could see Buffy had jumped in after her and was now gently holding her against the edge of the pool.

“That’s it, take deep breaths.” Buffy was telling her, rubbing her back while Dawn clung to the edge. Healer Burban was crouched next to her, holding something out.

“Here, is a breather.” She also offered one to Buffy, who took it curiously.

“One of da gungans who went to da human city brought dem back for you.” Captain Tarpals told them. “Is what da human use to swim under da water. You needs, is a long way to da surface. Dese good for a long time under da water.”

Healer Burban showed Buffy how to put it in and breathe through it, after which the blond submerged to test it. After a minute she emerged, grinning widely.

“Dawn, you have to try this! It’s like a scuba tank but better!”

Dawn hesitantly put it into her mouth and got used to breathing through it, jumping when Captain Tarpals jumped in the pool next to them.

“Long strokes.” He told them. “Don’t rush it, the smoother you swim the faster you will go.” He then ducked under the water, Buffy following. After a reassuring glance at Healer Burban, Dawn followed suit, finding to her relief that except for all the bubbles the breather meant she could breathe easily under the water.

Buffy glided through the water, pleasantly surprised by how easy the gungan robe was to swim in. She had worried that it would catch and drag like normal clothes would, but in fact it seemed to almost help her propel through the water. She glanced behind her to see Captain Tarpals with Dawn, he was sticking close by her and helping her through her fear. Buffy was enjoying herself. They were just swimming around the city, with occasionally shoals of fish floating by and sometimes a waving gungan. She hadn’t realised how much she already felt part of this strange, insular but wonderful community until now.

The captain was gesturing for her to swim down towards a ledge that jutted out from the outside of one of the bubbles. Approaching it, Buffy could see that the bubble had an ornate archway on the side of it. Once her feet touched the ledge, Captain Tarpals pushed against the surface of the bubble underneath the arch and pushed through it. Buffy watched in amazement as first the captain and then Dawn, holding tight to the arm of the captain, disappeared into the bubble in front of her.

She reached forwards and touched the shimmering surface, feeling a slight resistance before her hand moved through it and the rest of her could follow. As soon as she passed through, the film formed again behind her.

“Wow,” Buffy murmured looking at the entrance, before turning her attention to her companions. “That was great!”

“Of course you thought so.” Dawn said huffily, but she was suppressing a grin.

“Yousa both did well.” Captain Tarpals told them proudly. “Buffee, mesa thinks yousa can swim alone. But don’t go far from da city without a gungan, dere are dangers in da waters. Dawnee, mesa thinks yousa should practice more before yousa go alone.”

“Fine by me,” Dawn replied with a shudder.

Buffy just smiled as she watched a gungan outside the city glide effortlessly through the water. From where she was standing, it looked like they were flying.


	6. The Capital

Buffy glided down towards the platform, landing gently and pushing forwards into the city. As she did so, she adjusted the long electropole strapped to her back. As with everything made by the gungans, it was designed to be easily carried through the water and she barely registered that she was swimming with it. The hydrostatic door allowed her through, drying her hair as it did so. Buffy still marvelled at the things the gungans had managed to achieve with such supposedly basic technology.

Tucking the breather into a back pocket on the trousers she was wearing, she greeted one of the nearby gungans that she recognised with a wave. Before Buffy had a chance to go and speak with her, Dawn came leaping out of nowhere and grabbed Buffy's arm.

"There you are! Come on, you've got to see this."

Dawn all but dragged Buffy through the city back to their bubble. They'd finally been moved out of the first bubble they'd been given into another that was close by, partly to make sure Dawn was available to the healers whenever they needed her and partly to reduce the chance of either sister getting hopelessly lost around the city.

"What's the rush?" Buffy asked, allowing her sister to tow her along.

"You'll see!" Dawn said excitedly. "Where were you anyway?"

"Oh, here and there…" Dawn, despite still rushing forwards, managed to fix Buffy with a glare. "Fine! I heard rumours that one of those big fish things was coming up too close to the city, I thought I'd go have a look."

"Captain Tarpals said not to go too far."

"And I didn't!" Buffy protested. "I just went to see if I could see any signs of it."

By this point they had reached the bubble. Dawn went straight in, over to their beds. "Tadaa!"

Buffy looked at the outfit laid out on her bed, the soft drape of the fabric almost shimmering under the soft lighting of the bubble. It was a dress in a pale green, with a boat neck top and a waist tie. Standing on the floor by the edge of the bed were a pair of sturdy boots. Looking over at Dawn's bed Buffy could see a similar dress in a soft pink, with a higher neckline and long sleeves.

"Where did these come from?" She asked, a touch of awe in her voice. "They're beautiful."

"Mesa friend Gar Da make dem." Healer Burban told Buffy from where she was stood to the side of the bubble. "Yousa need Naboo clothes to go to da Naboo."

Buffy was familiar with Gar Da. The gungan was a seamstress of sorts and had adapted the usual gungan clothing to fit both Buffy and Dawn. In fact, Buffy was wearing one of her creations now – a fitted pair of trousers with a blouse-like tunic top, with a leather harness strapped to her torso which held the long electropole in place on her back. But all that was a minor alteration of existing gungan clothes. These dresses… they were like nothing the gungan ever wore. Even the fabric was completely different to the muted earth tones the gungan favoured.

"Thank you." Buffy told Healer Burban. "And please, can you thank Gar Da too? These are beautiful."

Dawn was holding hers up against her tall frame, swishing it from side to side with a smile of child-like delight on her face.

"Dawn says thank you too." Buffy said as she rolled her eyes with an amused smile.

"It's so pretty!" Dawn exclaimed happily.

"It not be as posh as most Naboo clothes." Healer Burban cautioned. "But it made from da gungan material – easy to swim in and won't stay wet. Yousa will look different from da Naboo but yousa can say yousa is off-worlders."

Buffy's mind finally drifted away from the clothes to what the healer was saying. "Wait, Boss Nass thinks we're ready to go to Theed?" Over the last couple of months the boss had talked with Buffy sporadically about her progress and that of the younglings she was training. He'd spent time telling her about some of the recent history between the Gungan and the Naboo. He'd even shown her some of the local geography, explaining about how the planet Naboo was unusual in that it had a water core, which was the home of several dangerous creatures but could be traversed quickly to get across the planet. Buffy would even go so far as to say she'd built up a tentative friendship with the leader of the Gungan.

Healer Burban nodded to her. "Yousa has learned da language and wesa needs some things dat da outlying traders do not have." She smiled at Buffy. "Yousa gets to go shopping! Wesa have freed up da next few days. Boss Nass asks dat yousa go and see him before yousa go."

With that, the healer left after instructing them to try on the clothing. Something that Buffy and Dawn were only too happy to do.

Standing in the pale green dress, Buffy felt more feminine than she had in months. Dawn's pink dress similarly enhanced her figure, far more so than the tunic and trousers combination or healer robes that she'd been wearing recently. Buffy eyed up the boots but decided that she'd become so used to walking around barefoot that she would save them for the surface.

Deciding to get the discussion with Boss Nass over, she left Dawn packing a few supplies for a couple of days away and went to the Council Room. She was admitted quickly, taking up her position on the central platform she had become used to.

Boss Nass scrutinised her for a few minutes, occasionally clicking as was his habit. "Mesa think dat da gungan clothes are better for da Slayer." He said eventually, gesturing to the dress.

Buffy laughed. "Well yes, but this is better for the girl. And it's the girl you want to send shopping in Theed."

The boss joined in her laughter. "True dat, true dat. Now, mesa has gift for yousa and Dawnee." He gestured at one of the guards, who passed Buffy two bags full of small golden chips and a long list. She looked at them curiously, turning them over in her hand. "Dey are credit chips." Boss Nass informed her. "Da red bag is for da supplies yousa getting for da Gungan, from da list. Da other is for yousa and Dawnee."

"A credit chip." Buffy's eyes lit up. "Like money?"

"Yes." The boss looked at her. "Is enough for food, staying, some clothes and more. Is pay for da work yousa and Dawnee do here."

Buffy looked at the small chips in the bag, picking one up to inspect it and jaw dropping at the amount. She might not really know what it was worth, but that many gold chips could never be bad. "Thank you!" She told him gratefully. The Big Boss just waved it off.

"Yousa can borrow mesa heyblibber submarine, but no damages it!" He waved his hand threatening. Buffy laughed again before thanking him and leaving the chamber. Outside Captain Tarpals was waiting for her.

"Yousa going to da Naboo today?"

"I think so." Buffy looked down at the credit chips she carried. "I have a shopping list, I have money, I have the clothes…" she twirled in the dress, smirking up at the captain. "I've even been given permission by Boss Nass to use his sub… I'm all set. Just need to collect Dawn."

"Yousa taking da Boss's heyblibber?" Captain Tarpals's eyes bugged out of his head. "No. Nah uh. Mesa seen you driving. Mesa drive da heyblibber, take yousa and Dawnee. Den mesa wait while you get what yousa needs, bring yousa back."

"But we could be there a couple of days!" Buffy protested. "I don't expect you to wait that long for us."

Tarpals shook his head. "Mesa needs to do some things up dere anyways, has been in Otoh Gunga long time now. Mesa drops yousa off, den pick up after two days, unless yousa say yousa need lift early."

Buffy couldn't think of an argument against that and really given how disastrous her attempts to drive a submarine had been she should be thankful that he was prepared to do it for her. To be offered Boss Nass's personal heyblibber was a great honour – he was notoriously very proud of it but it needed to be returned in pristine condition.

She went back to the bubble to collect Dawn, who had managed to pack them everything they needed in two small bags. The simple life of the Gungan had definitely taught them to travel light, if nothing else. Like Buffy, Dawn was carrying her boots ready to put on when they reached the surface. Despite having played with her dress before, Dawn was now fidgeting in it.

"You ok?" Buffy asked her as she grabbed both the bags.

"I guess." Dawn fidgeted again then took a deep breath. "It just feels weird, you know? I haven't worn normal clothes since we got here, and I think I might kinda like the gungan clothes after all."

Buffy smiled at her. "I know what you mean. This is almost the other extreme. Come on, let's go hit Theed – we might find something we like more there."

"Are we swimming?" Dawn asked cautiously as she followed Buffy out of their bubble. Whilst Dawn's swimming had improved a lot since their first lesson, she still wasn't very confident and usually only went out in company and even then only around the city.

"Nope!" Buffy replied, popping the p sound and grinning at Dawn. "Boss Nass is lending us his heyblibber!"

"He's what? And you're going to drive it?" Dawn looked horrified. "He loves that thing! We could be cast out of the city completely!"

"And that is why Roos is driving. Come on Dawn, it will be fine."

The sisters made their way through the city to the special bubble that held the submarines. There were several of the typical gungan bongo submarines, craft that looked like manta rays which held between three and ten occupants depending on how they were set up. But at the end, presiding over the rest like a ruler over their subjects, was Boss Nass's personal heyblibber. The heyblibber was obviously different to the rest of the submarines, resembling a large deep sea fish more than a ray.

Captain Tarpals stood near it, obviously waiting for them. He grunted in approval when he saw the small size of the bags they were carrying.

"Yousa both ready? Wesa going through da core – tis da quickest way to Theed."

"The core?" Dawn gulped, she'd heard horror stories in the healer rooms from gungans who had decided to brave the core and needed patching up as a result. She had no desire to go anywhere near it.

"Is ok," the captain reassured her. "Da heyblibber will be fine. More powerful dan da bongos." He gestured at the fleet bobbing gracefully in their moorings.

"Great," Buffy replied, swinging into the heyblibber. Captain Tarpals coughed discretely and she realised she'd chosen the driving seat. With a sheepish apology she slid sideways, Dawn clambering into a seat behind her.

"It's huge in here," Dawn commented as she looked around the inside.

"Is good for da shopping." Captain Tarpals told her. "Wesa no wants yousa to feel like yousa can't shop as much as yousa like." He even kept a straight face, despite knowing how much both sisters were looking forward to retail therapy.

Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, I want to see what this does!"

The journey through the core was uneventful. Several times Buffy saw the large and dangerous creatures that made this such a hazardous journey, but the heyblibber was fast and streaked by before the creatures could really even notice they were there.

In Theed, they reached the small docks at the river's edge. The sight of two human girls climbing out of a gungan submersible was notable enough to draw a crowd, so Buffy and Dawn quickly said goodbye to Captain Tarpals and made their way away from the docks. Before taking off, he pressed some form of communication device in Buffy's hand, saying that he would be back at the docks in two days unless she called him to pick them up earlier.

Fighting through the people was tiring, and a strange feeling after the peace and tranquillity of Otoh Gunga. But as soon as they left the riverside the crowds dispersed and both sisters felt that they could breathe again.

"So, what first?" Dawn asked, looking at Buffy who considered for a moment.

"I think first… we look around and try to get our bearings. We need to find somewhere to sleep tonight, somewhere to eat and where the shops are. I think we should try to get everything on the list as our priority, as then we can spend the rest of our time looking for clothes and anything else we want. But I don't know where we're going to get all these things." Buffy frowned down at the list, some of the items were obvious but some she'd never heard of. It didn't help that her ability to read Basic was still pretty rusty. Dawn rolled her eyes and plucked the list out of her sister's hand.

"I'll take this." Buffy was going to argue but through better of it – Dawn had proven adept at picking up the written language quickly. She looked around as they strode down a wide street. The buildings towered above her but didn't make her feel cramped. Everything had an air of age about it, from the way plants climbed up the stonework to the design of the architecture itself. Most buildings seemed to be made out of a pale cream stone and arches and rotunda seemed popular in design.

"Oh look, maps!" Dawn exclaimed, pointing to a small stall to the side of the street. She dragged Buffy over and they quickly acquired a small paper map of Theed. "Looks like this area caters to tourists." Dawn stated. "This is one of the main streets, but it just heads to the palace. We need to find the markets." She turned the map over a couple of times. "I think it's this way." She told Buffy, before realising that Buffy wasn't listening at all. Instead, she was staring up at the sky.

"You ok?"

"Just thinking that this is the first time I've seen the sky for a while." Buffy smiled at Dawn. "I didn't realise how much I missed it." Buffy looked around, at the people who were hurrying to and fro. It was easy to tell the tourists from the residents – the people of Theed seemed to be in a continual rush, whereas there were family groups milling around some of the small stalls selling trinkets and souvenirs.

She looped her arm through Dawn's. "We have a bit of time before we have to buy anything – let's just have a look around for a bit."

"Sure."

The two girls strolled down the street. Buffy was curious about the Naboo, having heard so much from the gungans. The women strolled around in ornate dresses, tall headgear or cowls covering their heads. Men tended to be clean shaven, wearing long cloaks that were usually trimmed in elaborate colours. In comparison, the dresses that Buffy and Dawn were wearing seemed very simple and basic in design, a fact that was noted by more than one passing sneer.

"They do seem a bit…" Buffy paused, trying to find the right words.

"Snooty?" Dawn answered for her, pulling a face at the next woman to scan her clothing. The woman looked affronted, pulling her own cloak tighter around herself and hurrying away.

"Yep, snooty is a good word for it." Buffy confirmed, glaring at the back of the woman. "Come on, let's find a place to stay for the night."

They found a small inn tucked away down a side street and managed to get a room. The man behind the counter was sceptical at first, but the sight of the republic credits that Buffy was carrying soon persuaded him. They found a room at the top of the building that had a small balcony and a view over the rooftops of the city.

Buffy stood on the balcony, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the fact that up here no one would be looking down on her.

"I thought he was going to have a heart attack when he saw those credits." Dawn commented as she came up to Buffy. "Do you think it's safe to carry that much around?"

Buffy shrugged. "If I was anyone else? Probably not, but…"

"…but they'd have to be mad or stupid to attack the vampire slayer." Dawn finished with a grin. "Or her deadly little sister!"

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "What were you planning to do, squeal them to death?"

"I could be deadly," Dawn pouted, pulling a fighting pose and promptly tripping over the hem of her dress, landing on one of the beds with a thump.

Buffy shook her head. "You're as clumsy as one of my students!" As soon as she said it, an idea entered her head and she gazed at Dawn with a calculating eye. "In fact, you should come along to the classes sometime. Might be useful for you."

"Really?" Dawn sat up, eager expression on her face. "I could learn how to fight with the younglings?"

"I'd have to ask Roos but I don't see why not." Buffy replied with a smile. "Come on, it's time we started looking for this shopping list."

With some help from a couple of the Naboo and Dawn's small map, they managed to navigate to the main market area. Once there Buffy put her haggling skills to best practice, soon picking up the true value of most of the goods she was purchasing. She managed to arrange for most of them to be delivered to the docks on the day they were planning to leave.

After making a serious dent in the list, she started to ask surreptitious questions to find out if there would be anyone with answers as to how she and Dawn could go home. From the nonplussed expressions on most faces when she mentioned a portal or magic, she could tell she was facing dead ends.

The next day passed in much the same way. In the morning, the girls managed to finish off the list of supplies for Boss Nass. The afternoon was spent having fun choosing clothes, making the most of the credits they had been given to choose outfits that were far more flattering than the adapted gungan clothing they had been wearing.

But their search for more information about why they were here at all and how to get home was proving far more difficult. After the shopping was done, Buffy and Dawn trawled around some of the restaurants and bars, finding no one who wanted or was able to talk to them. Eventually their search culminated in a small, seedy bar near one of the spaceports, where Buffy again brought up travel with some of the locals. This time she discussed the Earth and whether any of the clientele had heard of it. After being quizzed on what sector it was in and what systems it might be near, she yet again drew blanks and was beginning to get frustrated when the serving girl leaned closer.

"My grandmother might know something for you," she said quietly. "If you can wait for a few minutes, I'll take my break and introduce you."

"Is she a traveller?" Buffy asked curiously. The girl hesitated.

"No… but she is a seer."

Well this sounded more promising than anything Buffy had heard so far. She agreed to wait out the front of the bar with Dawn until the serving girl came onto her break. Buffy mainly wanted to be out of the stale air and dingy atmosphere of the bar. As it was near a spaceport it contained all manner of off-worlders, which is one of the reasons why Buffy had chosen it as she'd realised during the course of the day that the Naboo were really quite insular. But despite all the time she had spent living with the gungan, she hadn't been exposed to quite how many different species there were and it was making her feel a little uneasy. Added to that was the constant stream of smoke from various pipes and she was desperate to be back in the fresh air. Judging by Dawn's relieved gasp next to her, she wasn't the only one.

Buffy hadn't wanted to take Dawn in with her at all – the seedy bar was no place for a fourteen year old girl. But the alternative was leaving her by herself in Theed, at least if Dawn was with her Buffy could offer some protection. Thankfully, no one had bothered them. It helped that Buffy had bought a cloak to cover Dawn's appearance with – mainly so she wouldn't get thrown out for being too young, although Buffy now suspected that wouldn't have been an issue given the rest of the clientele.

"That was gross." Dawn summed up, pulling a face. Buffy nodded absently, looking at a collection of posters on the wall. It seemed to be for some sort of election.

"That is some pretty extreme make up," Dawn commented as she followed Buffy's gaze. Buffy couldn't help but agree. The young girl she was looking at – well, Buffy assumed she was young but it was very hard to tell – was wearing elaborate makeup which coated her whole face and made it incredibly pale. One small red strip on her bottom lip stood out amongst the white, along with two red dots on her cheek. On her head was an elaborate headpiece that couldn't possibly be her real hair.

"Amidala." Buffy read from the top of the flyer. "Seems to be up for some sort of election… for Queen. Wait, you can be elected Queen? Why did I not know this?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Not on Earth you can't. Guess that's something else that's different here." She read the manifesto. "Wait, she's my age! And this Queen is essentially the ruler of the Naboo!"

"Seriously?" Buffy gaped at the flyer. "Don't take this the wrong way Dawn, but I don't think anyone your age would really be old enough to be the Queen of the Naboo."

Dawn was shaking her head vehemently. "I agree! That's just… no way." She scanned the rest of the flyers. "They are all young. Oldest is twenty five. Do they have something against electing old people?"

"The young are seen to be innocent and idealistic." A soft voice said from behind them. Buffy and Dawn spun around to see the serving girl had finally managed to come out to meet them. "Both are traits that the Naboo highly prize."

"Well, good luck to them." Buffy dismissed the posters. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Erida," the girl replied.

"So you aren't Naboo?" Dawn asked. When Buffy looked at her curiously Dawn shrugged. "She said that the traits were something the Naboo prize, as though she isn't one."

Erida smiled at Dawn. "That's right; my grandmother, mother and I are off-worlders. We came here a few years ago now, my father was one of the Naboo and when he died my mother wanted me to experience some of that heritage."

"You said your grandmother is a seer?" Buffy asked her. Erida looked around.

"Yes, but don't say that too loudly. The Naboo can be very superstitious, despite proclaiming they don't believe in any of the mystical arts unless they are those used by the Jedi." She gestured for Buffy and Dawn to follow her as she disappeared down an alley way. After exchanging a quick glance Buffy slipped into the alley behind Erida, Dawn staying close behind her.

They didn't have far to go before Erida was leading them up a series of stairs into a small apartment. Inside there was a clean and tidy main room, small kitchenette off to one side. A grey haired lady was humming as she embroidered, looking up as the three girls entered.

"Ah Erida, thank you for bringing them. It's kind of you to use your break, but don't you think you should be getting back?"

"But Grandma, I-"

"It's ok dear, I can take it from here." The older lady stood up gracefully and shooed her granddaughter out of the apartment. With an apologetic look back at Buffy and Dawn, Erida complied and headed back to the bar.

"Please sit," the lady was saying now, gesturing to a small sofa. "My name is Thaila."

"Um… thanks." Buffy said as she sat stiffly on the sofa. "I'm Buffy and this is Dawn." Dawn waved before sitting next to Buffy, nervously jiggling her leg.

"Oh I know who you are, dear." Thaila sat back down in her chair, a wicker seat covered in bright fabric. "Well… I know what you two are. I'm not quite sure which is the Slayer and which the Key, your auras blend so closely together." She gestured to a pitcher on a small table next to Buffy, ignoring how both girls started at the revelation she knew who they were. "Please, help yourself to some juice."

Buffy didn't move. "How do you know that?"

The lady smiled at Buffy and leant towards her. As Buffy looked closer, she could see that Thaila's eyes were clouded with cataracts and that she seemed to look through rather than at Buffy. "My eyes may be faded dear, but my Sight is clear. You must be the Slayer then. I knew that you would come to speak to me. I have something of importance to tell you."

"Can you help us get home?"

Thaila tutted as she sat back deeper into her chair. "Always the same with the young, never want to actually enjoy the gifts they have been given."

"Gifts? What gifts?" Dawn asked curiously, while Buffy stilled next to her. The words of the First Slayer came back to Buffy.

" _Death is your gift_."

"Your gift brought you here." Thaila was looking directly at Buffy now, her milky eyes intent.

"No, that can't be right." Buffy stated. "We need to get home. Our friends and family, they need us."

"You don't think you've earned your rest?" Thaila smiled gently. "This is where you belong now. Here you don't need to be the Vampire Slayer, you can just be the Slayer."

"What's the difference?" Buffy asked, curiosity meaning that even though she wanted to reject what she was hearing, she had to ask.

"Choice." Thaila replied simply. Buffy fell silent, thinking about what the seer had told her.

"I'm confused." Dawn stated. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Don't worry about it, Dawn." Buffy replied. "Just something I heard while on my Slayer quest, that's all."

Dawn folded her arms across her chest and sat in a sullen silence at being so easily dismissed.

"There is something else." Thaila told them both. "There is something else that is here, it came at the same time you did. I think it must be for you."

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"A weapon of some sort." Thaila shrugged. "I can't tell you anything more than that, but I think you'll know when you find it."

"You don't have it here?"

"No, you must go to find it." Thaila stood up and walked over to a desk with the practiced ease of someone who had done it several times before. "Ah, I do have this for you though." She produced a chart of some description. "This is the location where you need to look."

Buffy took the map from her, looking at it curiously. She could see the marks that Thaila had made, but the chart meant nothing to her. Dawn looked at it over her shoulder.

"Captain Tarpals will know." The younger girl stated confidently, earning herself a glare from Buffy.

"So you have no information about how we can get home?" Buffy asked again, hoping to glean anything.

Thaila shook her head with a smile. "No, I've told you all I have. But it's been nice to see you. When you find what is waiting for you, would you please bring it back to show me? I would be very interested."

Buffy glared at her, standing up suddenly. "Come on Dawn, we need to go. Thank you," she added grudgingly on the end, although Thaila ignored her rude manner and just waved them off.

Outside, at the bottom of the steps leading to the apartment Erida was leaning against the wall. On seeing Buffy and Dawn she stood up straight. "Everything ok with Grandmother? I know she can be a little… intense."

"Just fine," Buffy replied, trying not to show how annoyed she was at the lack of real answers. "Thanks for that."

Erida shrugged. "No problem. I do have to get back though, so I'll see you around." She left with a wave, leaving Buffy and Dawn to head back to their hotel.

"Well she was a load of help," Buffy grumbled, stomping down the street once they were nearly back to their hotel, ignoring the sneer on the faces of most of the Naboo they passed by. "All about gifts and weapons, nothing useful about going home."

"Maybe…maybe we aren't meant to go home," Dawn suggested tentatively.

"No Dawn, that can't be it. There must be a way."

"But what if there isn't? No Buffy," she said when her sister opened her mouth to argue. "Think about it. She said that coming here was meant to be your gift for sacrificing yourself to save the world, yes?"

"Yes," Buffy agreed begrudgingly. "How did you know that?"

"I might be young but I do have a brain and I can figure things out." Dawn replied impatiently. "So that means you wouldn't be needed back at home, or this wouldn't be a gift but a punishment. Maybe what she means is that we get a new chance here. Think about it – not even confined to just one planet! There is a whole galaxy here waiting for us to explore it!"

"A whole galaxy?" Buffy stared at Dawn. "Dawn, don't you even want to go home?"

Dawn shuffled a foot. "Honestly? No, not really. But I get why you do, I think."

"But…" Buffy couldn't even comprehend it. "But why not?"

Dawn sighed. "It's not like I have much of a life there Buffy. Now that… since mom is gone, most of my ties are here." She looked pointedly at her older sister.

"But what about your friends?" Buffy's face held a crease of confusion.

"What friends? It's only Janice really and let's be honest Buffy, all our memories together have just been made up by a load of monks. I don't really have any other friends, which come to think of it is probably because it's quite hard to make up a whole life for several different people. Here…I dunno. Here I get a chance to do something real, become whoever I actually want to be. And so do you! There are no demons so you don't have to be the Vampire Slayer, like Thaila said. You don't have to be a slayer of any kind. You can just be you."

Buffy went silent for a few moments as she thought about it. What did she have back in her old life? Her friends, sure, but they would be ok. Not straight away, but with time. Giles, but he had a life before her and would have one after. What if this was the weirdest way the universe had ever found to reward someone for dying not once but twice for the world?

"Okay," she said slowly. "I still think we need to work out what happened, but we're not going to get answers here and I don't want to leave the gungan yet so… so let's go and look for this weapon thing the seer was talking about. If it's real and where she says it is, we'll assume that the other stuff she said was true. If it isn't, then we'll think up another way to get out of here to get some answers."

"Yay!" Dawn squealed, hugging her sister tightly. "Thank you Buffy, you're the best."


	7. The Mine

Buffy and Dawn waited by the piles of supplies they had bought at the docks. There was some murmuring around them, a river ferry was late and a large group of fashionable looking men and women were milling around aimlessly as they waited for its arrival. Buffy was listening to their inane conversation and trying not to roll her eyes too obviously.

"I can't believe we have to wait on the docks like this, it's so uncivilised."

"Maybe we should file a complaint with the ferry company. We've been waiting for half an hour now, surrounded by all these tradespeople with their goods."

The man who had made this statement looked sideways at Buffy, who tried not to bristle at the implication she was any less important that he was. Luckily, Dawn was distracted by watching the movements of the boats around the docks and along the river and so hadn't heard him.

The woman next to the rude man sniffed loudly. "What some people wear nowadays, I don't know. Must be off-worlders."

Buffy looked down at the pale green dress she had put back on for returning to the city, thinking that there was nothing wrong with it. She looked back up again at the woman's startled shriek.

"Oh! Oh! It's one of those gungan things!"

Buffy brightened as she looked out into the river to see the heyblibber surfacing. It glided towards the docks, looking predatorial and elegant compared to the more conventional barges the Naboo favoured.

"Isn't it great," Buffy said conversationally, smiling at the pair. "Hey Dawn, our ride's here!"

As the heyblibber docked and Captain Tarpals leapt fluidly out of it he was accosted with an armful of teenager as Dawn engulfed him in a hug.

"Hi Roos," Buffy added with a smile. "Want to lend a hand?" She gestured behind her to the crates of supplies. Captain Tarpals shook his head with a smile.

"Yousa got it all? Big Boss be well pleased."

"Yep!" Dawn told him happily. "Plus we managed to get a wardrobe sorted out. Those are in the paper bags, if we damage those Buffy won't be happy." She said the last words conspiratorially, caused Captain Tarpals to chuckle.

"Mesa be very careful." He promised her solemnly, before picking up one of the large crates. Buffy shouldered another by herself while Dawn hovered around. Even the seasoned workers on the quayside stopped what they were doing and stared at the petite blonde lifting a heavy crate with ease and slinging it into the submersible. Between the muscular frame of the gungan and the strength of the slayer it did not take long to get all the supplies loaded into the heyblibber.

As Buffy slipped into the seat beside Captain Tarpals she turned to him. "Do we have time for a side trip on the way home?"

The captain looked confused. "Where yousa want to go?"

"We met a seer," Buffy started, holding up her hand when Captain Tarpals was about to argue. "She knew I was the Slayer without me saying anything, she was genuine. But she said that there was something for us at this location." Dawn passed the chart forwards to Buffy who handed it on to Tarpals. "I think we should go and check it out."

Captain Tarpals scrutinised the map. "Is in the mountains." He said finally. "Mesa thinks... perhaps a cave? Is in da Gungan lands but tis a dangerous part of the mountains, der have been rumours dat gungans have been going missing der and now wesa not been going."

Buffy frowned. "Sounds like it's somewhere I should be checking out anyway."

Captain Tarpals considered, tilting his head from one side to the other. "Okie doke den. But Dawnee stays in da heyblibber."

Down pouted but didn't argue as it wasn't Buffy dictating it. Buffy nodded emphatically, feeling an odd sense of relief that he'd agreed with her plan. "Ok then, let's go!"

It took about half as long as the journey to Theed to get to the area that Thaila had pointed them to. Buffy used that time to change out of her green dress and into her gungan clothes, strapping an electropole securely on her back. The heyblibber was often used to carry troops and contained spare weaponry just in case.

When they surfaced, it was into a small pool at the base of a waterfall. Or at least, that was what Captain Tarpals said it would be as he guided them in. The pool was there but the waterfall was not, just a towering stack of worn rocks that showed where it used to be.

"It's odd." The captain said, frowning as he looked around the small valley. "It's not da dry season, dere should be water here." The whole area looked desolate and barren, with the exception of the edges of the pool the heyblibber was currently floating in.

"Let's add it to the list of mysteries." Buffy said as she jumped onto the shore. "Now Dawn, we've got communicators. Stay here and try not to break anything while we're gone!"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I'm like fourteen now. I can look after myself."

Buffy continued as though she hadn't heard her. "There are snacks and water in the rear compartment and if we are too long you can raid the supplies we bought from the Naboo."

"How long will you be?" Dawn asked a little nervously.

"We'll be back by nightfall." Buffy told her reassuringly. "I just want a quick look around, that's all. Are you gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, I will be." Dawn nodded resolutely. "See you when you get back."

It was strange, Buffy reflected as she started to follow Captain Tarpals up the rocky slopes away from the pool, but she didn't feel at all concerned about leaving Dawn alone for the day in the heyblibber here. At home she would have insisted on finding someone to babysit. But on Naboo Buffy just wasn't as concerned – maybe it was the lack of demon activity, or maybe it was the fact that over the last couple of months she and Dawn had grown closer and she understood her younger sister better.

Captain Tarpals stopped suddenly up ahead of her, bringing Buffy's thoughts straight back to the present. He was frowning and looking around in concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Mesa doesn't know," he replied. "But it's not right."

Buffy closed her eyes and sent her senses out, something Giles had insisted she start practicing. She couldn't feel anything wrong in particular, although she thought it was too quiet. But then…

"It's this way." She said firmly, pointing to their right along a small track that looked as though it had been made by some form of animal. "I can feel it… it's calling to me."

"What is?" Tarpals asked, confused.

"The thing we're looking for. The weapon, or whatever it is. It's this way."

She strode confidently down the track, moving as silently as only the slayer could whilst covering ground quickly. Tarpals followed her, his long legs easily keeping up even though he was much noisier about it. She covered some distance, probably about a mile in Earth terms, before ducking into a crevice. The captain followed, making an almost imperceptible mark on the rock as he did so.

Buffy followed her gut, unerringly leading down the crack in the rock that she'd found. For a while they used the light that filtered in from the opening, but that didn't stretch far and Captain Tarpals had to find a strange torch thing from that he carried to light their way. They carried on for some time, before a flicker of light ahead of them caused them both to slow down.

Tarpals turned off his light and they both crept forwards, soon realising that the small tunnel they were in opened into a bigger cavern. Looking down, Buffy gasped and then pressed herself to the floor.

There were people there. Human people. The cavern, which must have once been reasonably large in its own right, had been expanded into a huge space. Wooden and metal props held up the ceiling in places. Orange lights hung on electrical cables looped their way through the space, haphazardly casting areas of lights and shade. Down at the very bottom, water tumbled into the cavern from a stream, the noise of the waterfall echoing loudly. At the far end a large machine whirred whilst bellowing out clouds of steam. Luckily the noise from the waterfall and the machine combined was so loud that Buffy and Tarpals hadn't been heard.

A wooden platform ran a couple of metres underneath the exit of their tunnel, hugging the wall of the cavern. On this walkway two humans were approaching – men, by their height and build. They were talking loudly in basic. Buffy and the Captain pressed even lower, melting into the shadows to listen without being detected.

"It's an impressive set up you've got here. But it's no good if you can't ship the goods out."

"Who says I can't?" The second man asked, humour in his voice.

"Queen Sanandrassa, for one."

"Well what she doesn't know won't hurt her. She'd never approve of this anyway, Naboo is for the Naboo and all. Nowhere for an honest outsider to make a living." He spoke in a plaintive tone, but with a hard edge underneath.

"And the less honest ones?"

"Know that Sanandrassa's policies have made her unpopular and she'll never be re-elected. The Senator wields all the power here, he'll make sure the next Queen is sympathetic to our cause."

"Rumour has it that he favours Amidala." The first man stopped underneath their hidden tunnel entrance. Buffy quietened her breath as much as she possibly could. She had to hand it to Captain Tarpals, if she couldn't feel him behind her she wouldn't know he was there.

"Young and innocent. Just like the Senator likes them." Buffy could see his face now in the orange light, the man was leering grotesquely. Buffy suppressed a shudder, the knowledge that Amidala was Dawn's age sent a surge of anger through her.

"Idealistic."

"But malleable. Easily swayed, especially if they believe it's in the good of the people."

"And if she turned out to be a Gungan sympathiser?"

The man shrugged and started to walk away. "Then we carry on as we are in secret. No one cares about those overgrown frogs anyway. The entrance to this whole complex is on the Naboo side of the border. No one knows we mine under Gungan land and we make sure it stays that way. Particularly if any gungans get too close. After all, the men need some form of entertainment to keep them settled."

"Like I said," the first man stated as they started to make their way down steps at the end of the wooden walkway. "It's an impressive setup."

Their footsteps faded away and Buffy leant back into the tunnel to calm herself. Her hands were clenched so tight that her fingernails had dug into her palms and caused them to bleed. Captain Tarpals looked furious, his whiskers quivering in suppressed anger.

"I guess we know why the stream dried up." Buffy whispered to him. "They must have diverted it here to power their mining operation."

"And why da gungans gone missing." The captain said, his words laced with venom. "Dey say 'we make sure it stay secret', 'dey need entertainment'. No gungan can come home with stories of it. Dey silencing them. Maybe worse."

Buffy's anger surged as she realised just what was going on. "Well, then we definitely have no choice." She fixed Tarpals with a steely glare. "We are bringing this place down." A curt nod showed his agreement. Buffy knew it was a rash decision, she had no idea how many people were in this place but she couldn't just leave them here to capture and _silence_ any more gungans. Speaking of…

"I'll be right back," she whispered, before disappearing back up the tunnel. When she thought she was close enough to the surface, she called Dawn to tell her to submerse the heyblibber and wait underwater. With minimal words she conveyed what they had found, receiving nothing but support from the horrified girl. Dawn quickly agreed to stay put and stay hidden, so Buffy made her way back to Captain Tarpals quickly.

"What's the plan?" She whispered when she was back. Captain Tarpals nodded towards the machine.

"Mesa think dat make da big boom."

"You mean, we sabotage it to get it to explode? Can you do that?"

He shrugged. "Probably."

Buffy nodded, thinking. "Ok, but first we need to find whatever we came for, and find out if there are any gungans here at the moment too. We may be wrong…" Tarpals's snort showed how unlikely he found that scenario and Buffy couldn't help but agree.

She moved to the edge of the tunnel and scanned to see if there was anyone there. On finding the wooden walkway deserted, she dropped down onto it gracefully. She trusted that the Captain would follow as she crept along the edge of the cavern following the walkway, keeping a close eye on the men she could see on the other side to make sure they hadn't noticed her. Luckily, the cavern was huge and they were too far away to see the human girl and the gungan slinking along close to the wall.

Eventually they reached the end of the walkway, which led into another tunnel. Buffy led the way down it, still illuminated by the strings of lights casting an orange glow. There were several twists and turns but it still kept going down. Every now and then they passed wooden gantries and signs of mining. It seemed very crude, there was little technology but just simple picks and carts for the load.

"Illegal mining." Tarpals hissed in explanation. "If dey used da machinery, it would be noticeable. Someone on da surface would detect it. Dey have to do it by hand."

Buffy nodded to show see understood. They reached an intersection, one path leading to the left that was illuminated by the lights and one that ran straight ahead. At the end of the left path there looked to be some form of gate, Buffy was about to go and investigate when she felt a pull towards the other path. It sloped down steeply into darkness. The scrapings seemed fresher here, as though it had only been carved recently.

Before she even realised she had moved, she was staring at the pathway and trying to penetrate the gloom in front of her.

"Yousa want to go down dere?" Captain Tarpals asked, confusion evident.

"Yes," Buffy breathed. "There's something down there… can't you feel it?"

The captain pulled out his torch thing. It didn't really look like a torch, it seemed to use the strange plasma she had seen occasionally in the gungan weaponry to cast a form of light around. But it worked and Buffy was thankful to see it now.

He gestured down the path and started walking down it, using his torch to light the way. The tunnel was narrow and low, Tarpals had to duck routinely although Buffy managed due to her short stature. They descended further and further under the mountains, following the crudely excavated tunnel. Several times one of them kicked some stones loose that rattled loudly as they rolled away in front of them down the tunnel, but they couldn't wait around to see if the echoing sound alerted anyone to their presence. They had to keep moving forwards.

Buffy could feel the pull getting stronger and stronger. She wouldn't have been able to explain it, but she couldn't turn back now. Not when she was so close.

Eventually the tunnel widened into an area where some wooden supports had been hastily built. It was still low but high enough that Captain Tarpals could finally stand up tall, even though it put the top of his eyes very close to the ceiling. It wasn't a large cavern, only about six metres across, and it was a complete dead end. A single orange bulb spluttered on the roof, casting a flickering glow.

All of this Buffy saw and noted, but only one thing drew her eye was glinting in the rock at the far end of the cavern. Something that shone blood red in the light of the torch.

Slowly she approached it, until she was able to reach forwards to touch it. Her hand hovered a hair's breadth above it, tracing the outline of the shape and feeling the power rolling off it. From what she could see, it was a form of axe. Its blade was buried into the rock but what was visible was a bright red. The handle was sturdy with padded grips, ending in a sharp wooden stake. If Buffy hadn't already been able to feel that this was a weapon for the Slayer, that fact alone would have been enough to confirm it. Without vampires, there was no reason for a weapon on Naboo to be adorned with a wooden stake.

She reached forwards and grasped the handle, pulling it out of the stone with a smooth draw. She gasped at the feel of it – it felt just _so right_. Thaila had been correct, this weapon was _hers_ and no one else's. She'd never felt anything like it, the balance was perfect and it was sized as though made for her.

"Dis what yousa been looking for?" Captain Tarpals asked, looking closely at it.

"Yes… I don't know how to explain it, but this is mine." Buffy frowned down at it. "I guess I am meant to be here after all, otherwise why would this be here?"

"Maybe is true." The gungan nodded at the entrance. "Yousa ready to go back up?"

"Yes, this is what I needed to come down here for."

Captain Tarpals led the way back up the tunnel, both of them unable to move silently on the uneven surface. Unfortunately, they were making so much noise on the loose stones that they didn't hear someone else approach, until they rounded a corner to find a man – one of the two they had been eavesdropping on earlier – holding a torch and a gun pointing straight at them. His face lit up in a dark grin when he saw the small girl and the gungan in the tunnel ahead of him.

"Well now, what do we have here?"


	8. The Breakout

Buffy and Captain Tarpals froze for a split second before Buffy turned and ran back down the tunnel with the captain following suit. There was no space in the constricted tunnel to do anything else, when the man was armed with a long range gun. Guns and Buffy did not mix. But their pursuer obviously didn't expect them to run as it took a further second or two before shots were fired after them, allowing them to get far enough away that in the confines of the twisting tunnel they weren't in range. The shots sounded odd, not like gun shots at all.

"What is that?" She shouted to Captain Tarpals as they continued to run at full speed. Luckily he seemed to understand the question.

"Blaster," he grunted in reply, his words short and sharp as he gasped for breath. The end of the tunnel was drawing near. Buffy could only hope that there was a way out of the cavern that they hadn't noticed when she'd been distracted by the weapon she was now clutching in her hands.

They emerged from the end of the tunnel into the small cavern. Buffy ran her hands along the wall she had pulled the axe thing from, desperately looking for anything that might be a way out but there was nothing. The crunch of footsteps had her spinning around, hiding the weapon behind her back as best as she could.

The man grinned as he cornered them, pointing his gun thing – _blaster_ – in their direction.

"I have to wonder what a gungan and a pretty lady like yourself are doing in this place."

"Oh we were just… lost." Buffy said innocently. "It's very dark down here. Um, if you could just point us in the right direction, we could be going?"

The man chuckled darkly. "Now why would I do that? We've got a good little setup here and I don't need word of it to spread."

"Oh, we wouldn't say anything." Buffy reassured him. "I'm all silence girl."

He chuckled again. "I like you. I might keep you around for a bit. Your friend though." He looked at Captain Tarpals in a calculating way. "We don't need any more overgrown lizards at the moment."

The man brought his blaster up and fired a shot directly at Captain Tarpals. There was nowhere for him to go and no cover he could use. On instinct, Buffy whirled the weapon she had collected around in an arc, batting at the streak of light that the gun thing fired. She could only watch, stunned, as the shot seemed to ricochet off her weapon and back at the man. The expression of shock on her face was mirrored on his before he crumpled to the floor.

For a moment no one moved. The echo of the sound of the blaster died away and Buffy couldn't hear anything above the sound of her own breathing. Then Captain Tarpals walked forwards, crouching beside the man and checking for a pulse. He straightened after a moment with a shake of his head and moved towards the exit tunnel. Once he reached the entrance he turned to Buffy, a puzzled look on his face.

"Yousa coming?"

Buffy tore her eyes away from the body in front of her to look down at the weapon. Suddenly the blood red colour took on a different meaning. Her hands felt numb and her fingers lost traction, the weapon slid to the floor with a crash.

"Buffee?"

She raised her eyes up to Captain Tarpals from where she had been staring at her shaking hands.

"Is he…dead?"

The gungan frowned. "Yes. Is ok now."

Buffy staggered backwards. "I… I killed him?" Her legs suddenly couldn't hold her weight and she crashed down onto the ground, staring at the body.

Captain Tarpals was beginning to get worried. "Yes. Though really yousa just defended mesa, he fired da shot."

"You don't understand." Buffy shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I killed him. I killed a human." She looked up at Tarpals, a lost expression on her face. "I'm the Slayer. I don't kill humans, I protect them. Against evil demons. Now I've become the thing that I slay."

Finally beginning to understand the problem, Captain Tarpals knelt in front of Buffy and took hold of her shaking hands. "Here, der is no demons." He told her gently, stilling her hands. "But der is evil. Human, gungan, it no matter. Did yousa want to kill him?"

"No." Buffy sobbed.

"Den you would have let him kill mesa?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Buffy looked horrified at the thought, but then started to turn pensive.

"Der was no time to do anything else." Roos told her. "Here, dese humans would kill you or me. If yousa kills in defence, it not make yousa evil."

Buffy's green eyes bored into his hooded amber ones as she digested what he was saying. Eventually she nodded and, whilst still pale, allowed Captain Tarpals to help her to her feet. He then picked up her weapon, turning it over in his hands. "Dis looks like a cross between da axe and da scythe." He commented. "Da Gungan use a similar scythe for harvesting da seaweed. Is a nice weapon. But shouldn't be able to deflect blaster bolts. Mesa glad it did, though."

Buffy took it off him tentatively. "It must have some form of Slayer mojo." She said. Roos was pleased to hear that her voice was becoming steadier. "I'm not sure quite what it is. But it… it was made for me." She gripped it tighter, holding it to her chest. Buffy then took a deep breath, carefully keeping her eyes away from the body on the floor. "Ok, let's go."

Captain Tarpals smiled at her and led the way back up the tunnel. There was now a tension in the air which hadn't been there on their first trip. Buffy thrummed with it. Roos was aware that she hadn't really dealt with any of the recent events yet, but she was at least functional right now and they needed her to be.

They didn't meet anyone climbing the tunnel this time. When they finally reached the intersection and the orange lights that somehow felt less ominous than before, Tarpals took a deep breath.

"Where now?"

Buffy tilted her head as she considered. Straight ahead was the way back to the wooden walkway, the crevice that would take them out of here. It was tempting, and yet…

"We should finish what we came down here to do." She muttered, looking to the right. The tunnel continued for about fifty yards, a metal gate preventing further access. A metal gate that was in no way a match for a distressed slayer, as one kick sent it flying open and hitting the side of the tunnel with a loud crash.

"Wesa not going for da stealth, den?"

Buffy looked at him with determined eyes. On her march back up the passageway she must have been processing, she now looked nothing like the scared girl he'd seen in the other chamber.

"They are probably killing and torturing gungans. They definitely tried to kill you. No one kills my friends." She turned and started down the corridor, not going far before a door in the side caused her to pause.

"Oh, god."

Captain Tarpals looked through the small grate in the door to see the body of a gungan, still tied in shackles. He looked down the corridor and saw many such doors leading off from either side. With a frown, he blew a distinctive whistle. After a moment the same tune floated back, from further down the corridor. He nodded in the direction and Buffy took off. Just to make sure, Tarpals checked all the closed doors he passed but only saw the same as the first door offered.

Buffy had stopped at about the sixth door along. She peered through the grate and then pulled her foot back to let fly. The door was poorly fitted in the first place and the force of her kick took it clean out of the wall, hitting the floor just in front of a surprised gungan. The gungan in the cell recoiled as Buffy approached, trembling.

"It's ok," she said reassuringly as she tested the manacles. Not finding an easy way to break them without hurting the gungan she opted for the next best thing, pulling them straight out of the wall.

The gungan drew further away once it was free, staring at her. The fear in its eyes was now laced with curiosity as it regarded the small human girl who was dressed in gungan clothes, wielding an electropole, carrying some form of axe in her free hand and who had easily ripped chains from the wall that the gungan had been unable to move.

Captain Tarpals appeared in the doorway. "Jesh Kee?" He asked in horror as he recognised the gungan as one that served in the army alongside him. "Isa dat yousa?"

"Roos Tarpals," the gungan croaked. "What's yousa doing here? With da human?"

"We're breaking you out," Buffy told him as she left the cell. Roos helped his former colleague to his feet.

"Yousa can walk?"

Lieutenant Jesh Kee nodded. "Mesa thinks so." He stumbled as he tried while his muscles still adjusted to being loose.

"What happened?"

"Wesa in da mountains to find why da gungans go missing." He croaked a sardonic laugh. "Wesa found it."

"Wesa?"

"Mesa and Corporal Kaujils." A loud crash indicated that Buffy had opened another cell.

"Mesa hopes we find Corporal Kaujils den," Tarpals stated, his expression grim. As he helped his friend from the cell he could see Buffy carrying another gungan out. She'd wedged the scythe onto her back somehow alongside the electropole and was nearly dragging the gungan, who would have towered over her if she wasn't unconscious.

"Shul!" Lieutenant Kee cried, hobbling over to his subordinate. "Shesa alive?"

"Yep, but not in a good way." Buffy replied, dropping her gently into the corridor. At Tarpals's nod, Buffy left the care of the gungans to him while she opened the next cell door. By now, the more lucid gungan prisoners had realised what was going on and, whilst still very wary of the human, weren't actively trying to hide away from her.

In all, five live gungans were being held in the cells. The lieutenant and his corporal were in by far the worst state, the others could all walk easily. Roos carried Shul Kaujils whilst Lieutenant Kee hobbled alongside. Buffy, noting the unease of the gungans, led their way back up the tunnels but kept some distance from the group.

They were lucky, even with all the noise they had made they didn't encounter anyone else on the long route back to the wooden walkway. When they reached the large cavern, it was clear to see why as the machine was making even more noise now than when they had passed by before.

"I thought you said they were trying to stay quiet to stay hidden?" Buffy hissed to Tarpals. One of the other gungans looked at her nervously but answered.

"Dey time it, dey know when dey can do it undetected." The gungan sounded young, big wide eyes blinking at Buffy. Buffy smiled reassuringly in her direction.

"Thank you…er…"

"Tabbem." The gungan supplied, nervously looking at her hands.

"Thank you Tabbem." Buffy looked along the walkway to where she knew there was an opening in the rock above. "It's very exposed out there. We're not all going to be able to go through without being detected."

"What yousa thinking?" Captain Tarpals asked her, grunting slightly as he shifted the weight of the gungan he was carrying.

"Diversion." Buffy replied, looking down at the big machine still whirring away. "I can go and make a mess of that thing, you take the others back to Dawn. I'll join you when I can."

"Yousa can't go alone!" Roos protested. "Yousa not know how to make boom, hm? Is dangerous."

"You can't come with me and carry the Corporal." Buffy replied reasonably. "You need to make sure the others are safe."

"Mesa come wid you." The quiet voice surprised them both. Tabbem was looking at them resolutely. "Mesa work in da gasser, mesa can help make da machine go boom."

Buffy looked at her doubtfully. "Are you sure? I mean, not that you can make it explode, but it's going to be dangerous." She'd learnt during her stay in Otoh Gunga that a gasser was some form of forge, she trusted the gungan to know machinery if she worked in one.

"Yes. Mesa sure." The young gungan stood taller. "Yousa not even gungan yet yousa risking life for us. Mesa come with you."

"She not gungan but she is da Slayer," Captain Tarpals said proudly, looking at the girl who had become his charge. "Yousa is brave, Tabbem."

Buffy nodded her agreement. "OK, but you take this." She pulled the electropole from her back and handed it over before adjusting the position of the scythe so that it rested comfortably on the harness and left her hands free. She then looked at the remaining gungans. "Stay here and stay hidden, when you see the diversion start moving. You have a communicator for Dawn?" Tarpals nodded the affirmative. "OK, call her and tell her to meet you. Then get back underwater until I contact you, ok?"

"Yes, Slayer."

"Right then." Buffy took a deep breath. "Good luck." She nodded to Tarpals before making her way along the walkway, Tabbem following her closely. The edge of the cavern was to their left as they kept to the shadows and tried to stay out of sight. As they were about a third of the way back to the opening that would be their exit Buffy saw a steep set of stairs she hadn't noticed on her way into the cavern with Tarpals. The steps led down, winding through the struts of the walkway itself which would provide them with cover as they approached the machine.

Buffy gestured to Tabbem, who took the change of direction in her stride as they made towards the steps. Winding their way down the steps, Buffy could see the staircase finished on the edge of the underground lake that made up the middle of the cavern. Now that they were closer to the ground she could see a dark path around the water's edge that hadn't been apparent from higher up, which led almost all the way to the machinery. She also thought it unlikely that they would be detected, even though she could clearly see some people talking in the brighter lights on the far side of the cavern.

Just as they were approaching the bottom she saw a pair of humans, one male and one female, approaching along the lake path. She signalled to Tabbem who froze. Buffy leant closer to catch their conversation.

"What's taking Shab so long? Wasn't he just going to check on the houseguests?"

"Ah, you know him. He's probably amusing himself while he's down there. He'll be back soon enough to make our lives difficult."

The man grunted in reply. "Let's just finish this check. I don't know what they're expecting anyway, who is gonna be coming this far in? If you want action you need to be by the main entrance."

As they walked away Buffy missed his companion's reply, drowned out by the sounds in the cavern. She rose a little bit straighter, every word eroding a little of the guilt she was still feeling and replacing it with anger. As soon as she judged that they wouldn't be seen, Buffy crept down the last few stairs and made her way around the lake. Tabbem still followed, not as quietly as Captain Tarpals would have done but not loud enough to be heard over all the ambient noise.

It was further than Buffy first thought to reach the machinery. Dirty orange pipes plunged into the water, steam hissing from between badly connected joins. Large pistons pumped loudly, gleaming silver in the dim light.

Tabbem took one look at it and started to mutter about plasma mining. Buffy didn't really know or care what it did, she was more interested in how to make it break.

"Wesa needs to block da water inlet, den it overheat and go boom. Is a bad design. Mesa no think da Naboo use dis, is like dey brought a different machine to force to work."

Judging from what Buffy had heard earlier, she wasn't sure the Naboo people were particularly aware of this whole operation. It seemed more likely to her that someone had bodged this machine to do this job but she kept quiet as Tabbem was thinking.

"Right, mesa going into da water. Mesa need to see da inlets." Buffy passed her the torch thing that Tarpals had been carrying, Tabbem taking it gratefully. The gungan slipped off the outer layer of her clothes and then, wearing just her tunic and trousers and carrying the electropole, she slipped quietly into the water.

To Buffy it felt like an age before Tabbem surfaced again, sliding out of the water as easily as she had gone in. "Mesa done it." She said with grim satisfaction as she pulled her outer layers back on and handed Buffy back the torch. "It won't be long now."

"Good work," Buffy whispered, helping her adjust the electropole. "Let's get out of here."

She turned around to head back the way they came – coming face to face with a tall man. "Hey! You!" He shouted, confused. "What you doing 'ere?"

"Oh!" Buffy immediately twirled some hair around her finger, looking vacantly up at him. "I must have taken a wrong turn. Can you show me how to get out?" She fluttered her lashes at him. The man looked pole-axed and it might have worked if he hadn't caught sight of Tabbem trying to hide behind her.

"Wait, you're with one of them gungan things!"

"Run!" Buffy shouted, turning quickly and giving Tabbem a quick push in the right direction. The young gungan didn't need to be told twice, taking off in a flat out sprint away from the man. Unfortunately, the shouting had drawn the attention of the other illegal miners and as they ran they saw a group ahead of them scramble to their feet and draw out blasters.

"To your right!" Buffy shouted, spying a tunnel with stairs that led up and away from the main cavern.

"Don't let them get away!" Someone shouted behind them, before blaster shots began taking chunks out of the tunnel around them. Buffy ducked instinctively as rocks started flying around, one glancing off her arm painfully. She cried out involuntarily, but even as Tabbem slowed to see what the matter was she was waving to keep going.

They burst out of the tunnel onto a bridge that crossed the open cavern. Buffy could see that they were nearly as high as the original walkway. Unfortunately she could see that because at the end closest to her, near some stairs that led back down, a woman was standing with a blaster. As the woman aimed, Buffy grabbed the scythe from her back and swatted at the blaster shots flying towards herself and Tabbem. This time it didn't fire straight back at the woman, but instead hit one of the struts next to her. The woman flinched away, overbalanced and fell with a cry into the cavern below. Some shots still rang out from down below, one catching Tabbem in her side. With a cry the gungan slowed, but then Buffy was there pulling her along.

"Come on, you can do this. We're nearly there."

The fact that Tabbem could stagger on meant that it must have been a glancing blow. They crossed the bridge and entered a tunnel again, this one wider.

"Light!" Tabbem cried, realising that there was more than orange light surrounding them now.

"Come on," Buffy urged, both women staggering towards the natural light and freedom. From behind them an almighty boom sounded as the mining machine reacted to Tabbem's sabotage.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Captain Tarpals staggered into the fresh air. He was strong, even for a gungan, but navigating the narrow and uneven crevice whilst carrying another fully grown gungan had been difficult. He led their motley group back to the pool, only pausing long enough to direct Dawn to surface in the heyblibber. As they approached, he could see the young girl sat in the submarine staring at the group he was bringing back. He entered quickly, laying his burden down gently on the floor. Lieutenant Kee was helped in by one of the others whose name he hadn't yet got. The two uninjured gungan then hovered at the back end of the heyblibber near the supplies, casting worried looks at Dawn.

Captain Tarpals ignored their concerns and dropped next to the Corporal. Dawn immediately joined him, her healing training having paid off as she already had some ointment in her hand.

"We need to get them back to Healer Burban." The girl said, only her unsteady voice betraying her youth. "What happened down there? Where is Buffy?"

"Wesa needs to wait for Buffee," Tarpals told her. "Shesa doing distraction so wesa can escape." He looked up at the surrounding rocks. He was worried, it had taken them a long time to get out of the cavern and he had expected Buffy to be back before him. He had started moving as the first blaster shots rang out but was worried for Buffy and the young gungan that had gone with her.

Then there was a loud explosion sound that caused the water in the pool to move violently, waves breaking against the shore. Rocks tumbled down from the mountain and dust rose from the disturbance.

"What was that?" Dawn asked, sounding afraid.

"Mesa think it was da distraction." Roos said wryly. He continued to scan the area, looking for any sign of the slayer and her companion.

He was beginning to get very worried when a shout had him looking up. At the top of the dried up waterfall, afternoon sun glinting on her blond hair, stood the slayer. Next to her and being supported by her was the gungan. Buffy looked behind her with a concerned expression before she turned back to Tarpals, determination blazing in her face. He knew what she was going to do a split second before she did it, long enough for him to slip into the driver's seat and power the heyblibber forwards to give as much space as possible to the two women who were hurtling through the air down to the pool below.

Buffy surfaced first, still with a hand wrapped around Tabbem's arm. They both climbed aboard the submarine and lay panting on the floor whilst Tarpals engaged the engine and sped down and away from the pool's surface.

"Buffy!" Dawn cried, running to her sister. "Are you ok? Oh my god! What happened?"

"I'm ok," Buffy gasped, although the rock she'd taken to her upper arm was throbbing painfully. It wasn't broken though and there wasn't much Dawn could do for it. "Tabbem was hit by a blaster shot though."

Dawn was at the gungan's side in an instant, lifting her tunic away to see the injury. As Buffy had thought it was a glancing blow, although the charred skin was painful it wasn't deep.

"Here," Dawn smoothed a green paste over it. "This will help it heal and take away the pain."

"Thanken yousa," Tabbem gasped, the soothing paste numbing the area immediately.

Dawn rocked back onto her heels from where she had been kneeling next to the gungan. She followed Buffy's line of sight to Lieutenant Kee and his subordinate, both looking very unwell.

"I don't know what to do for them." Dawn told her sister. "They need to see proper healers, not me."

"We're going back as fast as we can now." Buffy comforted her. "They'll get the attention they need soon."

Dawn looked around at the gungans, the piles of supplies and the bags of clothes and sighed.

"Only your shopping trips end in an explosion and a rescue mission."


End file.
